The Social Security System (SSS) has deployed its mobile e-Wheels to public markets and barangays across selected towns and cities nationwide, including Silay City in Negros Occidental, as part of the weeklong Palengke Caravan, aimed at reducing travel time, long queues, and transaction difficulties experienced by workers, pensioners, and beneficiaries.
“For many pensioners, informal workers, and members in underserved communities, even a single branch visit can mean transportation expenses, lost income, and hours spent in line,” SSS president and chief executive officer Robert Joseph De Claro said in a statement May 25.
“Through the SSS e-Wheels/Palengke Caravan, we are bringing government services directly to communities so that people can access assistance and complete transactions closer to where they live and work,” he added.
He explained that the SSS is holding a caravan in public markets to bring its services directly to market vendors and ambulant sellers, who are unable to visit branch offices because they cannot leave their small businesses unattended.
The SSS e-Wheels were deployed in Metro Manila, which targets to serve around 21,500 clients; and caravan activities in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro; Legazpi, Albay; Silay City, Negros Occidental; and Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte on May 27. The nationwide caravan will conclude on May 28 in Virac, Catanduanes.
The mobile caravan will offer services, like employer registration, inquiries and verification, Annual Confirmation of Pensioners or ACOP, updating of member data records, issuance of SSS numbers and forms, and online-related transactions, such as My.SSS registration, password resetting, Payment Reference Number generation, pension loan applications, and benefit claim applications.
SSS will also deploy for the first time the newly-launched facial authentication with liveness check for ACOP verification during mobile service operations, allowing eligible pensioners to complete verification faster and more conveniently without visiting branches.
From January to April 2026, the SSS conducted 3,294 e-Wheels activities nationwide, serving 239,367 members and residents in last-mile communities. In 2024, the SSS e-Wheels Program received the ASEAN Social Security Association Recognition Award in the innovation category.
“By bringing services closer to the people, we are making SSS more accessible, more responsive and convenient for workers, pensioners, and their families,” De Claro said.
The SSS also reaffirmed its commitment to faster and more responsive public service as it joins the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) in celebrating its 8th anniversary May 22.
De Claro said the agency continues to strengthen frontline services, simplify processes, and modernize systems to better respond to member concerns, in line with the shared goal of improving government service delivery for Filipinos.
“As one of the country’s largest public service institutions, SSS recognizes that every transaction affects the daily lives of our members. We continue to improve our systems, processes, and frontline services because faster and more responsive government service is not only an operational goal, but a public responsibility,” he stressed.
In 2025, SSS posted a net income of P142.97 billion while its Reserve Fund surpassed the P1 trillion mark for the first time in the institution’s history, a major milestone that further strengthens the long-term stability of the pension fund for current and future members. ||
