Tissue Papers for P13 Million? COA Flags SSS Purchase of 143,000 Rolls in 2024

(SPOT.ph) As more government departments get flagged for questionable purchases, the Social Security System (SSS) has joined the list—over tissue paper. The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Social Security System (SSS) for spending P13.19 million on 143,424 rolls of tissue paper in 2024, a purchase so large that auditors claim most of it never even reached SSS offices.

In its 2024 audit report published on December 1, 2025, COA said the procurement “exceeded the agency’s two-month requirement,” noting that 116,046 rolls remained with the supplier because SSS didn’t have enough space to store them. What raised even more concern was the lack of paperwork governing the setup. According to the audit, the arrangement was based merely on a “verbal agreement” that the supplier would hold the excess stock.

As the report put it, “the absence of a documented agreement exposes the agency to risks,” especially since the items are already counted as government property.

To address the procurement issues, COA recommended—and SSS agreed—to follow the two-month supply limit and check inventory more carefully before making purchases in 2025. We’ll have to see in next year’s audit if those changes actually happen.

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In the same document, COA compared the cost to what SSS is actually supposed to fund. The P13 million spent on tissue rolls “could have provided benefits to around 2,000 pensioners” or covered “funeral benefits for about 650 deceased members.” In other words, money that could have gone directly to members ended up tied to an oversupply of bathroom tissue.

It’s not just a matter of bathroom supplies, either. COA also found that SSS underpaid funeral benefits by around P2.9 million due to errors in computing contributions, while overpaying pensions by P24.81 million to beneficiaries who were already long gone. When it comes to internal spending, SSS has released P333 million in cash incentives through its “Prestige Award,” giving up to P50,000 for each of its 6,525 officials and employees. Under existing rules, such rewards should only be granted when an agency generates documented savings—and even then, the payout cannot exceed 20% of those savings.

COA said SSS failed to provide proof that these conditions were met. If SSS can’t defend the incentive distribution, the employees who received it may be required to return the money.

SSS has not yet released a statement responding to the findings.

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