TO the new SSS President & CEO, Michael Regino, distinguished members of the Social Security Commission, my colleagues and co-workers in SSS, friends, and to my immediate family, Mga KASAMANG KAWANI SA SSS! Mabuting araw sa ating lahat!
Everything in life here on Earth has a beginning and an end. It was at this hallowed Ramon Magsaysay Hall that the mantle and flag of SSS was turned over to me by then-President and CEO Emmanuel F. Dooc as the 18th President and Chief Executive Officer of our beloved institution. This was after I was given the trust and confidence of our President, Rodrigo Roa Duterte to lead the SSS. Of course, I was nervous at first given the enormousness of the task at hand. Who would not get nervous when I know that, to paraphrase the running joke of our dear President: “I was just an ordinary student then who was used to getting grades of 75s.”
Kidding aside, at least I knew I did well in my college days. But the encouraging words from immediate family and my friends from the private and public sectors built my confidence. I am grateful to them. It has been three years since that important and memorable moment. And as we all know, the President has given me another assignment.
I will cherish the personal relationships I have built with the wonderful people in this institution, but I will cherish more the wonderful work we did together to make our products and services respond to the needs of our members. Let me just recall some of these wonderful things that we have done together for our institution and our stakeholders:
1. Online filing for most of the transactions through the web site and mobile app. Other requests can now be submitted online through the USSSAPTayo Portal. These are all under our transformative digitalization thrust.
2. Implemented the (a) various relevant provisions of the SS Act of 2018; and (b) the five pandemic relief and restructuring programs
3. Garnered various governance and service awards from esteemed partners, among others.
All other key accomplishments have been sufficiently recorded and evidenced through various management reports. I recall that one of the first actions I took as your SSC Chairperson was to ensure the fair, efficient and effective conduct of board meetings by enforcing parliamentary procedures as contained in the Robert’s Rules of Order.
Let me thank the Commission Secretariat office for the support and for allowing me to execute these actions. The same principles of fairness, efficiency and effectiveness governed the management framework I have adopted in my commitment and resolve at making good and improving SSS’s services to the approximately 41 million members as PCEO.
As we started improving our systems and operations processes, the Covid-19 pandemic happened globally. The pandemic disrupted the initial plans and were re-prioritized. The re-prioritization was anchored on the implementation of the government’s key program, the Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) to alleviate the impact of the pandemic to our members and their families and providing a safe and secure environment to our members while doing their transactions with us.
I recall the challenge we faced then—the limited time coupled with limited mobility and strained interactions because of the physical distancing required. Indeed, there was very limited time to design and develop the systems, and flow of operations for the nationwide disbursement program. Fortunately, our IT Team, the SBWS Task Force, the various business process owners, and all others who were part of the Team did not give up during that most difficult phase of development and implementation. And who could ever forget the four meetings within a day, 7 days a week for several months until the end of the program?
We successfully administered the distribution of the SBWS and implemented online systems of our processes over various digital platforms and service delivery channels. We are fortunate that Secretary Dominguez entrusted to us the task of administering the funds and distribution of the subsidy to more than 3 million beneficiaries nationwide. And just for all the stresses and aggravations we experienced to set this on stream, we will always equate SBWS as one of our key accomplishments in the years to come.
Despite the apparent suddenness and abruptness of the announcement of my transfer, I would like to think that with the commitment and determination of our workforce, we have successfully transformed the institution to become better, more responsive to the needs of the stakeholders and certainly more sustainable. My sincerest thanks as well to our Chairperson, Secretary Carlos Dominguez, for the support and guidance over the last 36 months and the members of the commission for their kindness, support and cooperation to all our initiatives.
I am grateful to the Office of the PCEO and Vice-Chairperson for their tolerance and kindness.
Those virtues coupled with your energy produced results that were positively judged. Thank you as well to the different units who continued to report to office full-time despite the various pandemic lockdowns. To the funding units, different BPOs and support units, policymaking units, strategy management, branches and our operations units, who did not stop to provide the necessary programs, implement enhancements to continuously and creatively served our members’ requirements.
Thanks to our Communications team for the patience and perseverance in the language and content development, and the corresponding design of art cards for easy understanding and reference of our members and colleagues. Thanks to our Corporate Services Group and the Medical Services Division in creating the appropriate work arrangement, and the necessary support to our employees and ensuring that almost all get vaccinated. Thanks to our drivers who braved the constant contact with people just to bring our employees to their workplace.
I thank as well our security officers and maintenance people who ensured the health and safety of our staff while in office. Last but not the least, our members who continue to trust and support SSS. Yes, I am sad leaving SSS, especially leaving all of you whom I have learned to love and respect. But I am comforted by the thought that I have done my part, and with your cooperation, delivered what was expected of me. I commend everyone here for successfully taking the ride with me and surmounted challenges we all faced together in the most difficult time in SSS. I also would like to thank and congratulate our new President and CEO Michael Regino for accepting the position and the challenges that come with it. I urge everyone to please extend to him the same level of support you gave me. I am sure he will do well and SSS should be better than where it is now under his leadership. And now as I have said earlier that everything here on Earth has a beginning and an end, the time has come for me to turn over to our new President and CEO Michael Regino the mantle and the flag of SSS. Thank you. To God be all the Glory.