13 SSS branches to open on March 5, Saturday, to cater to many clients
The SSS main office in Quezon City. (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Following reports of long lines of members and pensioners outside its Quezon City headquarters, the state-run Social Security System (SSS) on Friday said it will open 13 Metro Manila branches on Saturday (March 5) to serve waiting clients.
In an advisory, the SSS said these branches also extended service hours until 7 p.m. on Friday, namely: Diliman; Cubao; San Francisco Del Monte; Batasan Hills; J.P. Rizal-Makati; Pasig-Pioneer; New Panaderos; Parañaque; SM Aura-Taguig; Las Piñas; Alabang-Muntinlupa; Binondo; and Manila.
“These branches will also be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 5. Please observe standard health protocols (such as social distancing, temperature check, and wearing of face masks),” the SSS advisory read.
In a subsequent press statement, the SSS explained that Friday’s longer operating hours and Saturday’s operations were “due to the high volume of transactions brought by the new alert level imposition, which now allows mobility of transacting members.” Metro Manila and 38 other areas accounting for 62 percent of the economy moved to the least stringent alert level 1 restrictions since last March 1.
“The selected SSS branches will accept all transactions except the automated tellering system (ATS) facility from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday,” the SSS said.
“The SSS urges its members and claimants to utilize its online facilities such as the My.SSS portal and the SSS mobile app. Since March 2020, the SSS has shifted majority of its over-the-counter transactions to the My.SSS and SSS mobile app platforms to allow its members to conduct their transactions 24/7 at the comfort of their homes or offices,” it added.
The SSS’s advisory on its social media pages reminded members and pensioners that “the majority of SSS benefit claim and loan applications can be submitted online through members’ My.SSS accounts on the SSS website or via the SSS mobile app.” It added that “payments may also be made online or over-the-counter through banks and non-bank collecting agents.”
The SSS reported to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Friday that the long line at the Diliman branch earlier in the day was already gone and had been “addressed.” Dominguez chairs the Social Security Commission (SSC), the SSS’s highest policy-making body.
To accommodate the “higher-than-normal” number of transacting members, the SSS told Dominguez that the state-run pension fund for private sector workers was looking into also extending operating hours next week, “as the need arises.” The SSS said its branches and employees were already back to 100-percent or full capacity in areas currently under alert level 1.
“In general, [SSS] transactions can be done online. There are a few transactions that require in-person processing, an example is death claims… The same transactions can be handled at provincial branches — it seems there is a misconception that processing is faster at the Diliman main office/branch,” the SSS told Dominguez.
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