In the face of the pandemic, House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco seeks to ease the burden of Filipinos by filing two bills that would suspend the increase in contribution rates of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and the Social Security System (SSS).

Through President Rodrigo Duterte, the twin measures could amend the Republic Act (RA) 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act and RA 11199 or The Social Security Act of 2018.

The two laws allow regular raises of monthly premium contributions among its members.

The President would be entitled to “suspend the implementation of the scheduled increases in premium rates in times of national emergencies when public interest so requires”, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Department of Health and the Department of Finance.

“While we recognize that the [PhilHealth] only aims to implement the provisions of RA 11223, imposing a higher premium rate to our kababayans under our current conditions will definitely enforce a new round of financial burden to its members,” Velasco said in the explanatory note of House Bill (HB) 8316.

“Suspending the imposition of the new PhilHealth premium rates will provide a much-needed relief from the negative effects of the pandemic and will assure Filipinos that the government is sensitive to their sentiments,” he added. “Even today, while some restrictions may have been lifted, most livelihood, businesses, and other sources of income remain shattered and closed, while many Filipinos remain unemployed.”

With the unemployment rate standing at 8.7 percent or 3.8 million Filipinos, Velasco believes that the enactment of the bills could help the country rise from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.