Photo Credit: Inquirer
A strong social security blanket for all the
population could mean life and death to
many. For that very reason, the social
security protection provided by SSS to its
members in the private sector needs to be
assured, future- proof, and accessible. SSS
should be adoptive to the trends of the world
to assure its members of its continued
existence. It should be a 21st century
organization. One of this adoption is through
its digitalization and streamlining of vital
frontline processes. Digitizing provides many
benefits that are consequential to the
perception and survival of the office.
Government offices are known to be
notoriously slow and with long queuing lines.
Many of the citizens would often go to the
government office early and finish late
because of the surge of clientele combined
with the slow and complicated process within
the office. With digitalization, SSS has
actually significantly reduced queuing in
their office. Now you cannot see scores of
people waiting outside in the grueling heat
which was the reality back then. Also, back
then there was a truckload of papers to fill
and submit to the office. Due to this
technological adoption, you would not need
to transfer from one floor to another to
submit your documents for processing. In
turn, makes it easier both for you and SSS to
process and track information stated on those
documents. Since processes are online, it
saves space allocation for personnel and the
mountain of paperworks. SSS can now use
this bigger office space for more essential
things or to give comfort to employees
working on site. As part and parcel of
digitization, records management is easier
since data is stored in data centers making
storage, processing, retrieval, and purging
data quick and smooth. All the benefits
mentioned above admittedly decreases
operational cost and continuity from
personnel salary, office supplies, and office
space rent and maintenance.
 I've been a Social Security
System member since 2006,
paying SSS contributions for
over 17 years. However, in
2022, our principal
company, Mead Johnson, had
poor marketing, which is
why my agency reduced its
employees.
I'm Juvy, a 45-year-old warehouse checker
who worked for RedDot Philippines, Inc until
I was involuntarily separated on March 16,
2022, due to a workforce reduction. After
knowing that I was among those let off, I
asked for advice from the Department of
Labor and Employment on what I should do
because, at my age, it is difficult to find a
quick job, and my employer did not pay me a
separation fee. The DOLE assisted me in
resolving my complaint and gave my agency a
one-month notice. Furthermore, the DOLE
encouraged me to apply for SSS
Unemployment Benefits a month after my
separation. It was the first time I'd heard of
the SSS Unemployment Benefit. On April 2,
2022, I went to the nearest SSS office branch
to inquire about the UB application
requirements. According to the SSS staff, the
application for that type of benefit is entirely
online. They can only assist me in creating an
SSS Member account to register my SSS
number on their portal.
I began completing the requirements for
enrolling my disbursement account in the
portal; as previously said, if it is granted,
that's the time I can only apply for the UB. On
April 20, 2022, I began enrolling in the
disbursement module. However, despite
several attempts to upload various bank
accounts and e-wallets listed there, it was still
refused due to unindicated information, a
non-valid attachment, and so on.
 Present the rejection of my disbursement enrollment in the SSS Portal on May 4, 2022

Present the approval of my disbursement enrollment in SSS Portal on August 18, 2022

Present the cancellation of my Unemployment Benefit Claim Application on November 25, 2022
 On August 19, last year, I was officially enrolled
in the disbursement module since it takes time
to apply for another bank account after my
previously uploaded bank account and e-wallets
were rejected. Following that, I went to the
Unemployment Benefit module to input the
required information into the portal. The SSS
system then notified me that my application
had been received and instructed me to acquire
my e-certification of Involuntary Separation in
the DOLE Office.

At first, I wasn't sure if I needed to go to the

office because it said it was an e-certificate, and
there was no submission bin on the SSS portal,
so I consulted with my daughter, who had been
assisting me throughout the process. After
looking online, she informed me that DOLE had
an online system, so I quickly uploaded the
necessary documents. Unfortunately, the DOLE
rejected my e-certification application since my
agency failed to provide an update. As a result,
the SSS system canceled my application for
unemployment benefits. I was quite upset
throughout the process, and it was completely
unsuccessful. I returned to work as DOLE
settled it, but as a minimum wage worker
unemployed for roughly half the year, that
benefit would have been quite beneficial.
According to Aurora C. Ignacio, the sharp rise
in benefit payouts results from members
being more aware that the benefit above is
available to individuals who were forcibly
separated from their jobs, mostly because of
the COVID-19 outbreak.
One of the notable elements of Republic Act
No. 11199, often known as the Social Security
Act of 2018, which goes into force on March 5,
2019, is the Unemployment Benefit. Covered
employees, such as kasambahays and OFWs,
who were forcibly terminated from their jobs
due to a downturn in the economy, natural or
man-made disasters, the installation of labor-
saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment or
downsizing, closure or cessation of
operations, and an employee's disease or
illness whose continued employment is illegal
or detrimental to their coworkers are eligible.
In addition, members cannot be older than 60
at the time of involuntary separation.
Racehorse jockeys and surface or
underground mineworkers shouldn't be older
than Fifty and Fifty-Five years old,
respectively. Members must have
additionally made at least 36 monthly
payments, twelve months of which should
have been earned during the eighteen-month
time before the forced removal.
For two months, eligible members will be
given a monthly cash aid equal to 50% of their
AMSC. For instance, an applicant-member
with an AMSC of Sixteen Thousand Pesos will
get two months' value of P16,000 in
unemployment compensation (Eight
Thousand Pesos for each month).
A benefit claim must be submitted within a
year after the member's forced separation.
The involuntarily separated member may,
however, continue to file their claims up to 60
days following the government's
announcement of the end of the final day of
the ECQ/GCQ if the one-year filing deadline
occurs on March 5, 2020, up until that day.
The SSS Chief also recalled that before
submitting an application for unemployment
benefits online, members need to register
electronically at the SSS site to set up their
own My SSS accounts and enroll in
disbursement accounts using DAEM.
Increasing number of clients that entrusting their account—worst,
allowing the fixer to register their SSS Number in the portal