DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – The establishment of a satellite office of the Social Security System (SSS) in Bayawan City, more than a hundred kilometers south of Dumaguete, is in the offing after the agency successfully brought its services there for five days.
The SSS mobile E-Center accommodated at least 4,000 transactions.
SSS Dumaguete Branch Manager Dr. Lelani Benedian said they brought the E-Center to Bayawan upon the city’s request to accommodate its residents, as well as those from the neighboring towns Sta. Catalina and Basay who can hardly avail of the services of SSS.
Benedian said she is now awaiting the approval of the SSS main office to open the satellite office in Bayawan City. The City Council has already approved a resolution authored by Councilor Dan Aurelia to this affect. Bayawan Mayor Rene Gaudiel has also offered a space for the satellite office.
Of the 4,071 transactions accommodated by the E-Center, 1,453 were initial registration, complaints, data changes requests, employers report, maternity claims, pension claims, disability claims, and miscellaneous concerns; 1,967 transactions were for inquiries and verifications; and 651 were for other services.
Many displaced workers of the mining company in Basay were among those who trooped to the mobile center seeking solutions to their concerns, such as balances of contribution that were stopped when CDCP was shut down many years back. Many of the displaced workers wanted their accounts reactivated, Benedian said.
The E-Center also attracted residents of Hinoba-an and Sipalay towns in Negros Occidental. (FREEMAN)