Manila-On May 30, the United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced new grants worth over Php20 million ($370,000) for Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) working on innovative programs to improve the lives of Filipino out-of-school youth.

Administered through the USAID Opportunity 2.0 program, the announcement includes two types of grants: the “O2 GAIN Grants,” which will address local development priorities for out-of-school youth, and the “O2-ASPIRE Grants,” which will support partnerships between Philippine and U.S. HEIs on out-of-school youth advancement. The grants will help fund academic research, develop technological solutions, and enhance the quality of services for out-of-school youth.

USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn announced the new grants during the Opportunity 2.0 program’s Higher Education Learning Summit in Quezon City, which brought together more than 200 USAID partners from across the Philippines. The summit highlighted the pivotal role of higher education partners in building a better future for out-of-school youth and provided stakeholders a space for further collaboration.

“Working together, we have been able to make progress and open doors for thousands of out-of-school youth to better education, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities,” said Director Washburn.

To date, Opportunity 2.0 has supported around 35,000 Filipino youth by helping them gain employment, start their own businesses, or go back in school.

“I am confident that this learning summit will facilitate meaningful exchanges, foster collaboration, inspire innovative approaches, and find common ground to address the complex needs of out-of-school youth,” said Commission on Higher Education Chairperson J. Prospero De Vera. “I therefore express my gratitude to the USAID Opportunity 2.0 program and all the organizers for their vision and dedication for making this summit a reality.”

“Education is the cornerstone of all progress, and higher education institutions play a pivotal role in order to accomplish this as they serve as homes for training the minds of the youth and preparing them for the challenges of the ever-evolving world,” said Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto. “We view our higher education institutions as our beacon of hope. We are confident that with your help and support we can make out-of-school Filipino return to studying and get the quality education that they deserve.”

Interested grant applicants may contact GrantsPH@edc.org or follow USAID Opportunity 2.0 program’s Facebook account (https://www.facebook.com/USAIDOpportunity2.0) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/usaid-opportunity-2-0/) for updates and additional information. (PR)

The Social Security System (SSS) announces that Social Security (SS) Disability Benefit claim applications can already be filed online through the My.SSS Portal since January 2023.

SSS President and CEO Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said the provision of the online facility is part of the SSS’ continuous compliance with the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Services Delivery Act of 2018 through the streamlining, simplification, and automation of all its benefit processes.

“With the implementation of Online Filing of Disability Claim Applications under our Social Security Program, we are proud to say that we have finally put all SSS benefit and loan programs onto online platforms. Our members can access them at their convenience 24/7, without the need to visit our branches,” Macasaet said.

To use the online Disability Claim Application (DCA) facility, members must have a registered account in the My.SSS Portal in the SSS website at www.sss.gov.ph and a Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID) Card enrolled as an ATM or an approved disbursement account in the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module (DAEM).

Members can access this facility by logging in to their My.SSS account and clicking “Apply for Disability Claim” under the Benefits Tab. The system will validate the member’s records and eligibility to the benefit upon online application, where the results will be displayed on-screen.

Qualified members will be required to upload supporting documents such as a medical certificate issued or accomplished by their attending physician within the last six months, and other documents deemed necessary by the SSS.

All DCAs are subject to medical evaluation. Members who are required to report for Physical Examination and Interview (PEI) at the Medical Evaluation Center of any SSS Branch will be given 20 days from the date of e-mail notification to comply. Otherwise, the transaction will be rejected.

Applicable notifications will be sent to the registered e-mail addresses of members such as acknowledgment of successful submission; compliance to report for PEI; approval, rejection, or denial of claim; and/or other notifications deemed necessary by the SSS.

Meanwhile, DCAs with the following conditions must be filed at any SSS Branch: (1) the member is incapacitated, under guardianship, or confined in an applicable institution such as a penitentiary, correctional, or rehabilitation institution; (2) the Portability Law or Bilateral Social Security Agreement will be applied; (3) with adjustment or for re-adjudication of claim; (4) unclaimed benefit of deceased member; and (5) other conditions/cases as may be determined by the SSS.

The SSS Disability Benefit is a cash benefit granted to a member who becomes permanently disabled either partially or totally. A member must have at least 36 monthly contributions before the semester of disability to qualify for a lifetime monthly pension, in case of total disability cases; or a monthly pension for a specified number of months for partial disability cases.

Those who have not met the said required number of contributions but have at least one monthly contribution before the semester of disability will only qualify for a lump sum disability benefit, based on the guidelines provided under the Social Security Law. (PR)

BORONGAN CITY-A memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed between the Department of Public Works and Highways Eastern Samar District Engineering Office (DPWH ESDEO) and the Social Security System (SSS) to encourage and assist contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) workers who are not coverable under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Law, for social security coverage through registration as self-employed members of the SSS.

Said MOA also covered regular or permanent employees who opt to continue paying as voluntary members based on their preferred contribution.

DPWH ESDEO District Engineer Alvin Ignacio signed the MOA with SSS Senior Analyst Oliver A. Menda and Ma. Myla Lagria, a job-order employee, on May 16, 2023, at the DPWH ESDEO office.

Under the MOA, the DPWH Eastern Samar DEO shall assist its qualified regular/ permanent employees in continuing the payment of their contributions as voluntary members; to provide SSS with the list of all COS/JO personnel and regular/permanent employees who availed the service; to automatically deduct the SSS members’ monthly contributions from the salaries, wages, and fees they will receive from the office; and remit such contributions to the nearest SSS Branch.

Also stipulated in the MOA that the SSS is expected to conduct on-site registration and process the registration forms of the COS/JO personnel; regularly monitor the remittance and posting of monthly contributions of the members; provide free seminars/ information dissemination activities on the benefits, loan privileges, and other SSS programs for COS/JO personnel and regular/permanent employees of DPWH Eastern Samar District Engineering Office.

In an interview, Oliver Menda of SSS mentioned the benefits of becoming an SSS member.
“Bali damo kasi iton benefits. Mayda kita han maternity, sickness, disability, retirement, funeral, death, ngan hin employment benefits especially those who are in the field, mas maupay nga mayda nira SSS contributions kay kun magkadiano man magkakamay-ada hira benefits [Many advantages can be availed by the members such as maternity, sickness, disability, retirement, funeral, death, and employment benefits especially those assigned in fieldwork for their security because if unfortunate incidents may happen, they will received benefits],” said Menda.

Menda also disclosed that members are also entitled to loan privileges.
“Aside hiton na mga benefits, mayda sinisiring nga loan privileges, so pwede hira makapagloan ha amon an sinisiring nga salary loan. Mga two months salary loan it ira maavail. Tapos if ever mayda calamity nga umabot ha aton, pwede hira makapag apply hin calamity loan [Aside from these benefits, we also have loan privileges. They can avail the salary loan up to two months equivalent. And whenever there is a calamity, they are also entitled for calamity loan],” added Menda.

Also, Menda mentioned that the SSS would deduct 14% of the member’s salary credits to the monthly payroll, which will serve as the member’s contribution.
District Engineer Alvin Ignacio, an SSS member, supported this campaign and entered a MOA with the SSS so that employees may avail of social security services from the government, particularly those non-members of GSIS.

Before the MOA signing, the SSS had conducted an orientation for DPWH ESDEO employees last March 27, 2023. (PR)