REP. RODOLFO “OMPONG” ORDANES
SENIOR CITIZEN Party-list
Chair, Committee on Senior Citizens
DO NOT DELAY RELEASE OF RETIREES’ PENSIONS PLEASE
[Personal appearance no longer required, so please find ways]
GSIS, SSS, banks and other financial institutions should not delay the release of pensions because of the IATF decision telling them to find alternatives to the usual personal appearance of pensioners requirement despite the rules on Modified General Community Quarantine.
Because of COVID-19, it is not safe for pensioners to venture out of their homes to enclosed spaces like banks and waiting in line.
Sa utos ng IATF hindi na kailangan pa ang ‘personal appearance’ ng pensioners para magsumite ng mga kinakailangan dokumento at para magtuluy-tuloy ang kanilang buwanang pensyon simula sa darating na Marso 1, 2021.
Nakatitiyak ako na sa hakbang ng Malakanyang at IATF, mawawala na ang pangamba ng mga pensioner na maaring maputol ang kanilang pension kapag hindi sila personal na nakapunta sa mga kinauukulang ahensiya tulad ng Government Service Insurance Service at Social Security System.
Perhaps the best way is for banks to use electronic payments means which have built-in “Know Your Customer” measures to ascertain the identity of recipients. If a pensioner has a bank account, then that would also serve the purpose.
Another way is to use door-to-door delivery services to send cash cards directly to and received by pensioners themselves.
Pensioners can also be registered online by GSIS and SSS but the weakness of this option is not all pensioners are internet literate o have easy access to the internet. (END)
