SSS starts probe on investment officers
The policy-making body of the Social Security System (SSS) said that it is now investigating the allegations that some of the pension fund’s investment officers personally profited from the state-owned firm’s equity transactions.
In a statement, Social Security Commission (SSC) Chairman Amado D. Valdez said yesterday that they are currently evaluating the responses submitted by the four members of SSS investment unit to the complaints filed against them.
Earlier, SSS equities investment division chief Reginald G. Candelaria along with Rizaldy T. Capulong, Ernesto D. Francisco Jr., and George S. Ongkeko Jr. were accused of improperly profited from buying and selling stocks for their personal accounts using brokers handling the SSS’ equity investments.
“The Commission gave the respondents ample time to respond in compliance with due process,” Valdez said.
Besides looking at the probable guilt of the respondents, Valdez said the investigation will also lead to fine tuning the SSS investment policies.
Meanwhile, Valdez welcomes the investigations to be conducted by Congress and third party institutions in support of the SSC’s house cleaning efforts, particularly on the conduct of its officials handling investments of the pension fund.
Valdez said the SSC looks at Congress as its guide in making the SSS more beneficial to its more than 35 million members. Thus, the reform agenda for the 20-year-old charter of the SSC, which is seen as the future of the SSS, is now at the hands of the lawmakers.
The proposed bill to amend the 20-year-old SS Charter is currently being deliberated in the committee level in the Senate and was certified as a priority bill of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) Executive Committee.
SSS eyes the charter amendment proposal as one of the long-term solutions that will make the pension fund viable and sustainable to further serve its current and future members and pensioners.
One of the major provisions of the proposal is rationalizing the powers, duties and accountabilities of the SSC.