The branch expansion of the Social Security System (SSS) continues under the new administration as it opened and upgraded 18 branches in just five months under the management of President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc.
“Along with the membership growth is the pension fund’s strong commitment of establishing higher standards in providing convenient and reliable services to all members and their beneficiaries,” Dooc said.
Since November 2016, the SSS opened three branches in Ilagan, Isabela; Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City; and Binondo, Manila. Meanwhile, four additional service offices were located in Robinsons Lipa, Robinsons Tacloban, Montalban Town Center and One-Stop Government Center in San Fernando City, La Union.
“Accessibility is our top criterion in selecting location for new SSS branches since we want to bring our services closer to our transacting members. In fact, most of our branches are located either along major thoroughfares or within central business districts and shopping malls where public transportation is readily available,” Dooc added.
The new SSS management also relocated 11 SSS branches to bigger locations, namely; Novaliches, Masbate, Tacloban, Cauayan, Toril, Cainta, Pasig-Pioneer, Bogo, Toledo, Kalibo, and Mandaluyong.
“With the increasing volume of transactions, it is imperative for us to upgrade our offices not only to improve the employees’ physical working condition but also to create additional facilities for our clients such as members’ assistance desk, tellering services and physical examination center. This also shows our strict compliance with the ARTA or Anti-Red Tape Act provisions,” Dooc explained.
SSS commitment for 2017 is to put up 18 additional branches and service offices this year. As of December 2016, the SSS has 167 branches all over the Philippines—48 in the National Capital Region (NCR), 61 branches in Visayas and 31 branches in Mindanao region.
Outside of the country, SSS has 20 foreign offices based in Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Milan and Rome in Italy, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai in United Arab Emirates (UAE), Al Khobar, Jeddah and Riyadh in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and San Francisco, California. The following SSS offices were categorized as small,
medium, and large based on the number of transactions, amount of collection and number of employer accounts. As of December last year, there are 103 small, 44 medium and 20 large branch offices nationwide.
“We setup branch offices alongside the enhancement of our web-based facilities because based on our study, a significant number of our members still prefer face-to-face interaction. With our increased presence in cities or towns, we hope to encourage more of our workers to be an active member of SSS,” said Dooc.