President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Social Security Commission chairman Aurora Cruz Ignacio as president and chief executive officer of Social Security System.
The President appointed Ignacio on Thursday. Her appointment paper, however, was only released by the Palace on Monday.
Before heading the SSC, the governing body of the SSS, Ignacio was named as Assistant Secretary for Special Projects at the Office of the President. She was even designated as the focal person for anti-illegal drugs.
Ignacio’s appointment as the new SSS chief came after Emmanuel Dooc resigned as the agency’s president and CEO. Dooc resigned at the same time Republic Act No. 11199, or the Social Security Act of 2018, took effect.
In his letter to Duterte, Dooc said that he “voluntarily and irrevocably stepped down” to provide the President the opportunity to name a new SSS chief.
Two weeks ago, the state-run pension fund announced that the increase in contribution rates from 11 percent to 12 percent will be implemented starting April 1.
The new legislation, signed by the President last month, allowed the SSS to increase the monthly contribution of its members. It will also further increase by one percent every other year until it reaches 15 percent in 2025.
The said law is expected to generate an additional ₱31 billion for the pension fund, adding 13 more years to its fund life up to 2045.
Meanwhile, the President also signed last-minute appointment papers of eight government officials to the departments of Trade and Industry, Labor and Employment, Education, Interior, and Local Government, Agriculture, Finance, and others.
He also signed the appointment of Dennis Dagohoy as a member of United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corp.’s board of directors, Herminia Roman as a member of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s board of directors, and Dexter Galban as one of the commissioners of NEDA’s Commission on Population and Development.