Press Statement
On the Appointment of Romulo Neri and
A.O. No. 232
11 July 2008 - Malacañang announced this week the appointment of CHED chairman Romulo Neri as president of the Social Security System replacing Corazon de la Paz effective August 1. At the same time, Palace officials announced the signing on July 8 of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s AO No. 232, which clusters the existing social welfare programs of the SSS, DSWD, DOH, GSIS, and other agencies under a National Social Welfare Program to be overseen by the SSS Administrator, who will be given
Cabinet rank.

These announcements have raised many questions, first of which is whether Mr. Neri is the right person for the SSS job. More than management skills and financial expertise, the SSS administratorship calls for intestinal fortitude to be able to withstand the pressures from the powers that be and protect the interest of SSS members. In Mr. Neri’s case, we have grave doubts regarding his independence and moral courage. In the Senate’s NBN-ZTE hearings, he chose not to heed the people’s clamor for truth in order to prevent the President from being implicated. Will he be able to resist the importunings from various Administration allies to dip into the P248 billion in the pension fund’s coffers? Trust funds must be managed by the trustworthy for the benefit of the fundowners.

We also question the inclusion of the SSS among the agencies whose social welfare initiatives will be consolidated under the National Social Welfare Program. Unlike the DSWD and DOH, the SSS is not a social welfare agency. The Social Security Act of 1997 states that the social security system shall “provide meaningful protection to members and their beneficiaries.” Thus, SSS funds are reserved for the benefit of the 27 million SSS members, including minimum-wage workers, who give regular contributions and not meant to be used for government doleout programs. It must also be emphasized that the money being managed by the SSS is private, and not government, money, and is therefore not for the government to dispense with as economic or political exigencies demand.

It is highly inappropriate that the President should choose the SSS Administrator to head the National Social Welfare Program. Social security is not social welfare. The DSWD secretary would be the more logical choice to coordinate the government’s social welfare efforts. Or was the appointment made to justify Cabinet status? How convenient that Mr. Neri will enjoy Cabinet rank in his new position, which allows him to continue to hide under the cloak of executive privilege and evade a full accounting of his knowledge of the President’s role in the anomalous NBN-ZTE deal.

It is sad that the SSS may again fall prey to political interests, especially after Cora de la Paz restored and strengthened the agency’s financial viability. During her seven-year watch, pension payments were twice increased by 10% across the board, the gap between contribution collection and benefit payments was closed, and the actuarial life of the fund increased by 21 years. In 2007, the SWS Survey of Enterprises on Corruption reported that the SSS ranked among the top 3 agencies, climbing from a dismal ranking of 15th out of 16 agencies in 2001. Quo vadis, Mr. Neri?