SSS urged to freeze top execs’ accounts
MANILA - Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate has called on the Social Security System (SSS) to freeze all bank and financial accounts of its four top executives who have been accused of earning stocks using stockbrokers who manage the portfolio of the staterun pension fund.
SSS Commissioner Jose Gabriel La Viña earlier filed administrative complaints against the SSS Executive Vice President for Investments Rizaldy Capulong and three other officers accusing them of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct.
La Viña, who sits as commissioner of SSS Investment Oversight ComPOLICE mittee, accused Capulong, VP for Equities Investment Division Reginald Candelaria, Equities Product Development head Ernesto Francisco Jr, and Actuarial and Risk Management Division chief George Ongkeko Jr. of using their position to profit for themselves.
Zarate also suggest-
ed to SSS to sequester the stocks allegedly acquired by the four top executives through anomalous means.
"Do not just file charges and prosecute these people, SSS must move to immediately freeze all banks/financial accounts and sequester stocks and assets and its proceeds in favor of the SSS fund," Zarate said.
Zarate urged members of the House of Representatives to probe the issue once sessions resume in Congress and called on the leadership to delay any plan to increase the workers' SSS contribution.
"This is truly infuriating considering that those in charge of increasing and improving the members' fund life through prudent and high-return investments are instead the ones sabotaging it the members' fund. It's just criminally shameless for these people to even push for a contribution increase," he said.
An internal investigation has been ongoing, said SSS chair Amado Valdez.
Meanwhile, workers' group Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) urged the SSS to suspend its officials involved in the controversy as they might influence the investigation.
"We [urge] the SSS administrators to temporarily suspend all its officials involved to safeguard the document and prevent them from influencing the internal investigation process being conducted on the controversy," ALUTUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said in a statement.