New branch to make SSS more accessible

THE Social Security System (SSS) 11 branch inaugurated at the Gaisano Grand Mall along Ilustre Street yesterday was established to ease congestion at its main office.
“We opened a new branch to ease congestion in our main Davao branch and to make SSS more accessible to our members,” SSS vice president for public affairs Marissu G. Bugante told reporters at the Gran Men Seng Hotel Monday.
Bugante said their SSS Ilustre branch is situated in a very strategic location in Davao City.
The newest branch is expected to serve around 50,000 members, including self-employed and voluntary paying members from the informal sector.
SSS 11, in a statement, said SSS Ilustre will be servicing 3,180 employers, 20,000 employees and an estimated of 30,000 self-employed members within its jurisdiction from Jacinto Street to Bankerohan bridge covering 23 barangays under the first district of the city.
Bugante said the new office is a full-service branch which offers the issuance of SSS numbers; accepts and processes applications on benefit claims such as sickness, maternity, disability, funeral and death application as well as Unified Multipurpose ID (UMID) Data capture section. It is open from Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“SSS Ilustre branch will soon have its own information kiosk where members can access the E-center that has a stand-alone system where members can access and print their SSS record data,” she said.
Members can also register on the center and be able to avail loan programs offered by the SSS to its registered members.
The information kiosk will be established this year, according to Bugante.
The SSS will continue to open additional branches this year with five new branches and five service offices in the pipeline for this year.
Last year, SSS was able to put up 25 new branches and 13 service offices nationwide.
As of December 2014, SSS has 262 offices across the Philippines located in the National Capital Region with 60; Luzon with 118; Visayas with 41, and Mindanao with 43.
Bugante said SSS has a total of more than 32 million members currently. Cheneen R. Capon