New SSS chief orders longer service hours, some NCR branches to open on Saturdays

MANILA, Philippines—The new Social Security System (SSS) chief on Friday (March 11) ordered longer service hours at the state-run pension fund’s Metro Manila branches to serve an influx of stakeholders seeking assistance following the move to the lowest alert level 1 pandemic restrictions.

In a statement, SSS president and chief executive Michael Regino said SSS offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. during weekdays.

“SSS branches in Metro Manila would augment their current workforce with additional personnel from the main office. This will also allow more counter personnel to address the high volume of transacting members going to the branches daily,” Regino said.

Regino added that some SSS offices will also be open on Saturdays this month of March: Diliman, Cubao, San Francisco Del Monte, Batasan Hills, New Panaderos, Makati-JP Rizal, Pasig-Pioneer, Parañaque, Taguig, Las Piñas, Alabang-Muntinlupa, Binondo, and Manila. “These SSS branches will accept all transactions except tellering services from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.,” he said.

“These measures are meant to give our members, employers, and pensioners more time to complete their transactions with us without much hassle and difficulty. It pains me to see our members camping outside SSS offices quite early in the morning just to beat the queues and finish their transactions,” Regino said.

SSS branches in areas currently under alert level 1 had resumed 100-percent or full operations, partly due to last week’s surge in members and pensioners who travelled to the main office in Quezon City from areas still under higher alert levels. SSS officials had said that this was also due to the misconception that their Diliman branch can provide the fastest service.

“I hope those long queues and camping out will soon be a thing of the past. We owe it to our members, employers, and pensioners to give them better service now that the pandemic restrictions are being lifted,” Regino said.

Regino also ordered the SSS’s information technology department “to beef up their digital platforms so that members could have the option of conducting their transactions online and avoid queueing at SSS branches.”

Like his predecessor, former SSS chief Aurora Cruz-Ignacio, Regino is promoting the use of the SSS’s digital channels. Ignacio this week moved to the state-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.’s (PDIC) board.

“With the My.SSS [online portal] and the SSS mobile app in place, I encourage our members and stakeholders to conduct their transactions through these digital platforms,” said Regino.

“Since March 2020, we have managed to shift the majority of our over-the-counter transactions to the My.SSS and SSS mobile app platforms. These have allowed thousands of members to conduct their transactions 24/7 from the comfort of their homes,” Regino said.

TSB