Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118) - Philippines (Ratification: 1994)

Replies received to the issues raised in a direct request which do not give rise to further comments (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, which answers the points raised in its previous direct request and has no further matters to raise in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Article 3(3) of the Convention. Equality of treatment. The Committee takes due note of the adoption of the revised implementing rules and regulations of the National Health Insurance Act of 2013 and the Government’s reply to its previous comments indicating that new normative framework guarantees equality of treatment between national and foreign employees.

Reciprocity requirements. Section 15 of the Social Security Act of 1997 (Act No. 8282) provides that nationals of a foreign country which does not extend benefits to a Filipino beneficiary resident in the Philippines shall not be entitled to receive any benefit under this Act. The Government had previously reported that notwithstanding the foregoing, the Social Security Commission may direct payments without regard to nationality or country of residence where the best interest of the social security system will be served. In its 2016 report, the Government indicates that a new legislation was proposed for adoption by the Congress in order to rationalize and further strengthen the power, duties and accountabilities of the Social Security Commission, in terms of serving the best interest of the system and benefit entitlement of its members. Unfortunately, due to lack of time, the law could not be adopted and will be submitted to the next legislature. In the meantime, the Government indicates that it aims at pursuing the development of bilateral social security agreements with other countries. The Committee takes due note of this information. It recalls that Article 3(3) of the Convention only authorizes “retorsion measures” under the condition that the state of origin of the person concerned does not grant equal treatment with its own nationals to Filipino nationals in respect of a branch of social security which exists nationally. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any legislative developments aimed at guaranteeing the principle of equality of treatment in accordance with the conditions authorized by the Convention. It also wishes to recall that, in accordance with Article 8 of the Convention, ratifying member States may give effect to its provisions by way of bilateral or multilateral agreements to be concluded in particular with the other countries party to Convention No. 118 with a view to creating an operative social security network guaranteeing effective protection to their citizens. The Committee notes that such agreements with Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, Portugal and Sweden are awaiting ratification and asks the Government to provide information on newly signed and ratified bilateral and multilateral social security agreements.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Article 3(3) of the Convention. Equality of treatment. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report received in September 2011. The Committee notes that, in accordance with section 5, item 2(4), of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the National Health Insurance Act, foreign citizens residing and/or working in the Philippines shall be covered by the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) as “individually-paying” affiliates whereas private sector employees are covered under the category “employed”. The Committee invites the Government to indicate how contributions are regulated and financed in the case of “individually-paying” and “employed” affiliates.

Reciprocity requirements. Section 15 of the Social Security Act of 1997 (Act No. 8282) provides that nationals of a foreign country which does not extend benefits to a Filipino beneficiary resident in the Philippines shall not be entitled to receive any benefit under this Act. The Government reports that notwithstanding the foregoing, the Social Security Commission may direct payments without regard to nationality or country of residence where the best interest of the Social Security System will be served. In its previous report, the Government had indicated that, as there had been an instance where section 15 had been used, a committee was set up to review the provisions of the Act No. 8282 in light of the Committee’s comments that Article 3(3) of the Convention authorizes such a “retorsion clause” only under much stricter conditions than the abovementioned section of the Social Security Act. The Committee would like to be kept informed on any new developments in this matter.

Article 3(1) and Article 4(1) (in conjunction with Article 10(1). Affiliation of foreign nationals to health insurance. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the provisions of the Public Health Insurance Corporation Office Order No. 0026 of 22 February 2005 imposing residence conditions for affiliation to health insurance are interpreted in the light of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the National Health Insurance Act, section 5, item 2(4) of which provides that the health insurance shall cover foreign citizens residing and/or working in the Philippines. The Committee understands that, in practice, foreign nationals working in the Philippines are covered by health insurance without any condition as to residence. Their dependants however are required to reside in the Philippines in order to be covered by the NHIP. The Government is requested to confirm whether such understanding is correct.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

With reference to its previous direct request of 2001, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report received in September 2006 and, in particular, that concerning the application of Articles 5, 7 and 8 of the Convention.

Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Convention. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments pointing to the need to bring section 15 of the Social Security Act of 1997 (Act No. 8282) into conformity with Article 3(3) of the Convention, the Government indicates that, as there has been an instance that section 15 has been used, a committee was set up to review the provisions of the Act No. 8282 in the light of the Committee’s comments and to prepare draft legislation for submission to the Philippine Congress. In view of these measures, the Committee hopes that the Government would bring section 15 of the Act No. 8282 into full conformity with Article 3(3) of the Convention in the near future, having recourse, if need be, to the technical assistance of the ILO.

Article 3, paragraph 1, and Article 4, paragraph 1 (in conjunction with Article 10, paragraph 1). In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to ensure that foreigners who were allowed to enrol as members of the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP), received equal treatment with Filipino nationals both as regards coverage and as regards the right to benefits provided by the NHIP. In reply, the Government states that the coverage of foreign nationals under the NHIP, although categorized as voluntary, implies their treatment on an equal footing as regards entitlement to benefits with the Filipino nationals who enjoy compulsory coverage. The Government refers in this respect to the Public Health Insurance Corporation Office Order No. 0026 of 22 February 2005, which institutes a mechanism to enable enrolment of foreign nationals under the NHIP and contains guidelines concerning their membership, declaration of dependants, place of enrolment, premium payments and award of benefits. The Committee notes that this Order concerns the enrolment of citizens of other countries residing and/or working in the Philippines. Apart from submitting the required application for registration to the NHIP, the registrant shall also be required to submit a photocopy of his/her Alien Certificate of Registration issued by the Bureau of Immigration to prove his/her residency in the country. Dependants of newly enrolled foreign nationals are also covered provided they are residing in the Philippines. The foreign national member and his/her dependants residing in the Philippines shall be entitled to avail of PhilHealth benefits only during their stay in the Philippines.

Recalling that under Article 4(1) of the Convention, equality of treatment as regards the granting of benefits shall be accorded without any condition of residence, the Committee would like the Government to indicate in its next report whether and to what extent the condition of residence imposed on the foreign national members of the NHIP and their dependants as regards the granting of PhilHealth benefits is applied also to the Filipino nationals covered by the NHIP. Please indicate whether refugees and stateless persons could also benefit from the mechanism of enrolment instituted by the abovementioned Order.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

The Committee notes the detailed information contained in the Government’s report, in particular as to the questions raised by the Committee in its direct request. In this respect, the Committee would like to draw the Government’s attention to the following points.

1. Article 3 of the Convention (in conjunction with Article 10). (a) With respect to the clause contained in section 15 of the Social Security Act of 1997 (Act No. 8282) which stipulates that "nationals of a foreign country which does not extend benefits to a Filipino beneficiary resident in the Philippines shall not be entitled to receive any benefit under this Act", the Government refers to the following clause contained in this section which states that "notwithstanding the foregoing, where the best interest of the Social Security System (SSS) will be served, the Commission may direct payments without regard to nationality or country of residence". The Committee takes note of this information. It also notes that, according to the Government, the first clause has never been applied in practice.

The Committee, however, points out that Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Convention authorizes such a "retorsion clause" only under much stricter conditions than the abovementioned section of the Social Security Act. Under the Convention, a Member need not apply the principle of equality in respect of the benefits of a specified branch of social security to the nationals of another Member which has legislation relating to that branch but does not grant equality of treatment in respect thereof to the nationals of the first Member.

Article 3 of the Convention does not authorize the refusal of payment for the mere reason that a country has not been recognized by the Philippines; and does not authorize the refusal of payment of a benefit to foreign nationals residing in the Philippines simply because it does not provide its benefits to Filipino beneficiaries residing there. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate in its next report what measures have been taken or are envisaged to bring this clause fully into conformity with Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Convention.

(b) With respect to its request regarding section 2(b) of the National Health Insurance Act of 1995 (Act No. 7875) which extends compulsory coverage to Filipino citizens only, the Committee took note with interest of the proposal made by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) to "allow foreigners to enrol as members in the National Health Insurance subject to the appropriate guidelines that will be issued on this matter".

The Committee understands that this proposal aims to offer foreigners the possibility of voluntary affiliation. Such a solution, however, would mean that they still are not put on an equal footing with Filipino citizens who are compulsorily covered. Article 3  of the Convention requires equality of treatment both as regards coverage and as regards the right to benefits. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will be in a position to ensure that foreign nationals from countries which have also ratified the Convention, as well as refugees and stateless persons, are not treated differently than Filipinos as regards both access to insurance and entitlements to benefits. It would furthermore like to request the Government to supply a copy of any guidelines concerning the access of foreign nationals to health insurance in the Philippines.

2. Article 5 (branches (d), (e) and (g)). With regard to the provision of benefit of pensions to beneficiaries resident outside the territory of the Philippines, the Government had referred in its report to the MAGIMPOK Programme of the SSS. The Committee would like the Government to provide detailed information on this programme and to indicate in particular whether beneficiaries abroad are entitled to receive the pensions of the SSS without any additional financial costs involved.

3. Articles 7 and 8. The Committee has noted that a new social security agreement had been concluded with the Netherlands and that the SSS "aggressively pursues the conclusion of social security bilateral or multilateral agreement with ILO member countries" irrespective of whether they have ratified the Convention or not. It would like the Government to supply a copy of the agreement with the Netherlands in its next report and to keep it informed of any further developments in this respect.

4. Article 11. The Committee notes the information provided on the application of this provision of the Convention.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s first and second reports and has also examined the legislation mentioned in the latter, particularly Act No. 8282 of 1997 on social security, Presidential Decree No. 626 of 1987 (Employees’ Compensation and State Insurance Fund) and Presidential Decree No. 1146 of 1977 (Revised Government Service Insurance Act). The Committee has also taken note of Act No. 7875 of 1995 instituting a national health insurance programme. The Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the following points and requests it to send further information on them.

Article 3 of the Convention (in conjunction with Article 10).

(a)  The Committee notes that Act No. 8282 of 1997 on social security is applicable generally and covers nationals as well as foreigners. It notes, however, that under section 15 of this Act, a national of a country which does not extend its benefits to a Filipino residing in the Philippines or which is not recognized by the Philippines is not entitled to the benefits due to him in application of this Act. The Committee emphasizes that such a provision is not in conformity with what is authorized under Article 3(3) of the Convention and is therefore not in conformity with the principle of equality of treatment laid down in that Article. It requests the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken or envisaged to give full effect to the Convention on this point.

(b)  The Committee notes that Act No. 7875 of 1995 institutes a national health insurance programme for all Filipinos. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the implementation in practice of this legislation and on its impact on application of the Convention. It also requests the Government to indicate whether foreigners as well as refugees and stateless persons benefit from the protection provided by Act No. 7875 of 1995 and, if so, in what manner and by virtue of what provisions.

Article 5 (branches (d), (e) and (g)).  Please indicate whether, and if so, in what way and under which provisions, the following benefits are guaranteed in practice to Filipino nationals and also to nationals of member States who have accepted the obligations under the Convention for the corresponding benefits when the beneficiaries reside or transfer their residence abroad and payment of these benefits is not governed by a multilateral or bilateral social security agreement: invalidity and old‑age benefits, survivors’ benefits due to an occupational injury and industrial accident and occupational disease pensions.

Articles 7 and 8.  The Committee has noted the various social security agreements concluded by the Philippines and, particularly, the one concluded with France, a country which has ratified the Convention. It has also noted the Government’s statement to the effect that it is pursuing its efforts with a view to concluding new bilateral or multilateral agreements with other ILO Members for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Convention. The Committee hopes that the Government’s next report will contain information on progress made in this regard.

Article 11.  The Committee requests the Government to indicate the provisions adopted to give effect to this provision of the Convention which lays down the principle of affording administrative assistance free of charge between Members, in addition to measures taken in the framework of social security agreements concluded by the Philippines.