There oughta be a law! That's been in my mind for longest time since I started working on my father's funeral and death benefits. Social Security System(SSS) began sounding more like Social Insecurity System. Philippine Health Insurance Corporation(Philhealth) sounded unhealthy. Membership is a must for all- private companies, skilled and unskilled workers, household helpers.
Sometime January of this year, on behalf of my mother, I initiated a claim for father's funeral benefit. SSS branch office gave me a requirements list and three forms to fill up. Following day, I got the needed requirements(identification papers, certifications, photos) and had the application forms filled out and properly signed. I presented it to a receiving clerk and promptly, after it was reviewed, was asked for some more documents. Why didn't they tell me that at the beginning? Maybe they needed to be assured of whatever that may be. Off again to get those docs. Another day, I was back at their office with the additional documents. Stamp, stamp, stamp. Scribble notes here, scribble notes there. Clerk told me take a seat and wait for my cue while he passed all of my papers to a supervisor nearby. Finally I get to meet lady supervisor. She reviewed my papers and asked me (actually it was more of a demand) to bring mother along with her identification. Mother had only one, her senior citizen ID card.Well what can I do. So I had to.
Come another day and mother was already on a chair fronting the supervisor's table. A few inquiries were made by the latter. "Oh, and one more thing..." she said, "Could you provide us this one final document..." [my ears seeming to get clog with earwax or maybe some faint familiar droning sound coming from some unknown source].
Agreed. And again, what else could we do. Only consolation we got from the supervisor was mother would not need to show herself personally anymore when I get to grant the supervisor's "last wish". Consuelo de bobo! That's what it was actually. Any way everything's over and done with. A full week of one herculean task enough to make me feel frustrated at SSS the whole week after.
Come another day and mother was already on a chair fronting the supervisor's table. A few inquiries were made by the latter. "Oh, and one more thing..." she said, "Could you provide us this one final document..." [my ears seeming to get clog with earwax or maybe some faint familiar droning sound coming from some unknown source].
Agreed. And again, what else could we do. Only consolation we got from the supervisor was mother would not need to show herself personally anymore when I get to grant the supervisor's "last wish". Consuelo de bobo! That's what it was actually. Any way everything's over and done with. A full week of one herculean task enough to make me feel frustrated at SSS the whole week after.
More on this soon...
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