THE Social Security System (SSS) has extended its services to residents of Bantayan Island in Cebu, Philippines, through its mobile “E-Wheels” program, aiming to bridge geographical gaps and enhance accessibility for members in remote areas.
The two-day outreach event covered the municipalities of Santa Fe, Bantayan and Madridejos, all under the jurisdiction of the SSS Bogo Branch.
During the initiative, the SSS Bogo branch facilitated a total of 915 transactions.
William Penserga, SSS Bogo branch head, underscored the necessity of including Bantayan Island in their regular E-Wheels schedule.
“While Bogo City office remains the closest SSS branch to Bantayan Island, it is still approximately 50 kilometers away from Bantayan Island,” Penserga said.
“To address this gap, we have implemented a regular ‘SSS E-Wheels’ schedule to ensure that residents continue to have convenient access to our services,” he added.
Services offered during the outreach included member registration, inquiry and verification, online benefit and loan applications, annual confirmation of pensioners compliance, registration to the disbursement account enrollment module and updating of SSS records.
Eric Coronado, SSS acting vice president for Visayas Central 1 Division, affirmed the agency’s broader commitment.
“The SSS is constantly looking for ways to bridge the gap between its services and its members,” Coronado said. “Aside from bringing our services online, which provides more convenience to our members, we also have our ‘SSS E-Wheels’ programs to make our services more accessible. Here in Cebu and Bohol, we have a regular E-Wheels schedule, prioritizing remote areas in the two provinces.”
As of April 2025, the SSS Visayas Central 1 Division had recorded a total of 175 E-Wheels activities across Cebu and Bohol provinces, facilitating 16,507 walk-in transactions. / KOC