DEPENDING on the circumstances of the death of a Social Security System (SSS) member, there are certain supporting documents that are required to be presented by the beneficiary-claimant.
If the member died in the Philippines, the main supporting document is the death certificate of the deceased member, which is issued by the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) or the National Statistics Office (NSO). This certificate should be attached to the funeral grant and death-benefit claims. In the absence of a death certificate, a certification of non-availability that is issued by the LCR or NSO, together with the certification issued by the parish or the cemetery administrator, may be submitted.
If the member died in a sea mishap, there are many possible situations:
1) If the member’s body was recovered, whether he or she was listed on the passenger manifest or not, a death certificate registered with the LCR or NSO will suffice as a supporting document.
2) If the member’s body was not recovered, but his or her name is on the passenger manifest, any of the following may serve as supporting documents:
a) Marine protest issued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the passengers’ manifest issued by the shipping company;
b) Certification from the shipping company, the PCG or the Inter-Agency Task Force created by the President, plus an undertaking executed by the claimant in the form prescribed by the SSS, and other documents to establish affiliation, compensability and benefits. In the absence of such certification, there are other remedies that a claimant can take.
3) For a member whose body was not recovered and whose name does not appear on the passenger manifest, the claimant may execute an undertaking in the form prescribed by the SSS; present other documents to establish affiliation, compensability and benefits; and any three of the following:
a) Certification from the employer that the victim-member has not reported for work from the time of the accident up to the filing of the claim, if the member was employed; or certification from the barangay chairman and a relative that it is common knowledge in the village that the victim-member died in the accident, if unemployed;
b) List of passengers compiled by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and duly certified by the chairman of the Inter-Agency Task Force, where the name of the victim appears;
c) Certification from the shipping company stating that it has recognized the validity of the claim filed on behalf of a particular victim or that it has recognized the fact that the victim was aboard the ship during that particular trip;
d) Affidavit of at least two people stating that they saw the deceased actually boarding or actually onboard the ship on the ill-fated voyage;
e) Duplicate copy of tickets filed by the shipping company, if any;
f) Any proof that can be presented to show that the victim was actually aboard the ship on its ill-fated journey.
There are still other circumstances of death, such as those in times of disaster and if the member died overseas. I will discuss them in my next column in order to guide affected claimants on the needed documents to submit when filing their benefit claims.
To be continued next Wednesday
For more information, call the SSS 24-hour call center at (632) 920-6446 to 55, Monday to Friday, or send an e-mail to member_relations@sss.gov.ph.
Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the SSS. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.