[ DOLE DEPARTMENT ORDER NO. 15, S. 1997, July 10, 1997 ]

PRESCRIBING THE GUIDELINES FOR THE SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE UNCLAIMED/UNDISTRIBUTED CASH BONUS FUND (UCBF) UNDER RA 6982



In view of the sugar crises that economically beset the workers in the sugar industry, the following guidelines are hereby issued to ensure fast tracking of the disposition/distribution of the unclaimed cash bonus fund to its rightful claimants.

SECTION 1.       Term of Reference. - The unclaimed/undistributed cash bonus fund refers to:

a.         all remaining balances of the 80 % Social Amelioration Program Cash Bonus Fund (SAP-CBF), including interest earnings derived therefrom, still in the custody of the sugar mills and planters associations/cooperatives as a result of failure of individual planters to claim their workers share;

b.         all remaining balances of the 80 % SAP-CBF, including interest earnings derived therefrom, still in the custody of the mill and individual planters due their respective workers; and

c.         all withdrawn, or remaining balances or unclaimed/undistributed cash bonus fund remitted by the mills and planters associations with the DOLE-Regional Offices, including interest earnings derived therefrom.

SECTION 2.       Coverage. - All UCBF covering crop years 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1995-96 shall be covered by the special distribution.

SECTION 3.       Recovery of UCBF . - All DOLE-Regional Offices are hereby directed to conduct verification and validation of the UCBF balances with the sugar mills and planters associations as well as individual planters to determine their accountabilities pursuant to Rule VIII of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 6932.

After such a determination, the Regional Offices are further directed to arrange conference/meetings with the concerned PAs/Mills demand full remittance of the UCBF in their custody.

Within fifteen (15) days after such meetings the concerned mills, planter associations/cooperatives and individual planters are required to fully remit to the Regional Office all UCBF still in their custody.  Otherwise, legal action shall be instituted against the responsible parties pursuant to Section 13 of RA 6982.

SECTION 4.       Distribution of Recovered UCBF . - To allow late claimants to collect their cash bonuses, special distribution of all UCBF shall be done in all mills district under the supervision of the concerned Regional Office. Such special distribution shall serve as a measure to mitigate the economic difficulties of the workers.

A special distribution of the recovered UCBF shall be done in each mill district within a specific period of time to be determined by the Regional Office.  All planter-employers who failed to claimed their workers' CBF shall be required submit to the nearest Regional Office a list of qualified workers-beneficiaries and special payrolls and shall notify the beneficiaries of said special distribution. No distribution as contemplated in this section, shall be undertaken without direct and full supervision of the Regional Office which may take the form of a special task fore if so required.

SECTION 5.       Creation of Task Force. - As a strategic measure to effectively distribute the recovered UCBF the Regional Office may create a special task force to directly supervise the special distribution of the UCBF to late claimants in a particular mill district.

SECTION 6.       Responsibilities of the Special Task Force. - Specifically, the special task force to be created in each region shall have the following responsibilities:
-           Coordinate with concerned mills/PAs relative to the full remittance of the unclaimed cash bonus fund to the DOLE-RO;
-           Strategize effective information/dissemination campaign relative to the special distribution of the workers unclaimed cash bonus fund;
-           Prepare schedule of distribution in every mill district.
-           Evaluate authenticity of SAB payrolls or list of worker beneficiaries submitted by the planters and sugar mills.
-           Supervises actual distribution of cash bonus to the claimants.
-           Recommend to the Secretary action against non-compliance mills/planters.
-           Submit monthly report to the Secretary on the status of distribution of the fund.
SECTION 7.       Action for UCBF Balances. - All UCBF balances including those unclaimed during the distribution period as provided under Section 3 of this Order shall be deposited with the authorized depository bank under the Regional Office Account for UCBF to enable late claimants to obtain their cash bonus share prior to its forfeiture.

SECTION 8.       Allocation of Fund for the Special Distribution of the UCBF . - The Bureau of Rural Workers is hereby directed to allocate fund from its SAP's Administrative Expense Fund for the effective implementation of this special project.

The DOLE-RO shall submit to the BRW the financial requirements for approval and release of the required funding.

SECTION 9.       Effectivity. - This Order shall take effect immediately and any administrative issuances inconsistent herewith are deemed superseded.

Adopted: 10 July 1997


(SGD.) LEONARDO A. QUISUMBING
Secretary