Pursuant to Section 9 of RA 6982, the following guidelines are hereby issued to ensure the effective recovery as well as the proper disposition of the unclaimed and undistributed cash bonus (UCBF) for crop years 1991-1992 and 1992-1993.

SECTION 1. Term of Reference - The unclaimed/ undisturbed 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 to their failure to distribute the cash bonus share of their respective workers; and

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

SECTION 2. 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 6982.

After such a determination, the Regional Offices are further directed to take action, through demand letter or meetings with officials/representatives of concerned mills, planters associations and individual planters to inform the latter of their accountabilities and to demand full remittance of the UCBF in their custody.

Within fifteen (15) days after such notice or meetings the concerned mills, planters associations/cooperatives and individual planters are required to fully remitto 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 3. Distribution of Recovered UCBF - To allow late claimants to collect their cash bonuses, special distribution of all UCBF shall be done in al! mill districts under the supervision of the concerned Regional Office.

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 fund to late claimants in a particular mill district.

A special distribution of the recovered UCBF shall be done in the mill district within a specific period of time to be determined by the Regional Office. All planter-employers who failed to claim their workers CBF shall submit to the nearest regional office a list of qualified worker-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 force, if so required.

SECTION 4, 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 5. Remittance of Forfeited UCBF - Ail Regional Offices are hereby further directed to remit to the Bureau of Rural Workers ail forfeited UCBF, pursuant to Rule VIII, Section 6 of the IRR of RA 6982.

SECTION 6. Effectivity - This Order shall take effect immediately and any administrative issuances inconsistent herewith are deemed superseded.

Adopted: 11 Jan. 1996

(SGD.) JOSE S. BRILLANTES
Acting Secretary