SSS set to deliver ID cards by end of July
MANILA— The Social Security System is set to issue electronic identification cards for members, saying the long wait for the cards will soon be over.
In a statement, the SSS announced that the issuance of the so-called Unified Multipurpose Identification System (UMID) cards would begin by the end of July.
“Members who have been waiting for their IDs after the SSS card production stopped in April 2010 would be the first ones to get their UMID cards,” SSS president and chief executive officer Emilio de Quiros said in the statement.
The ID is multipurpose because, according to De Quiros, it will eventually serve the purpose of an ATM card that members may use to withdraw benefits from automated teller machines.
The card will be embedded with a chip and magnetic stripe.
Moreover, the card may also be used as identification in making transactions with the Government Service Insurance System, Home Mutual Development Fund (Pag-IBIG) and Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
De Quiros said other government agencies are welcome to join the UMID so that the same cards may be used by people in making transactions with them.
“Other state agencies can also join the UMID, which uses biometric technology and fingerprint matching to determine a person’s identity, so more people can reap its benefits,” he said.
The production of the UMID cards started recently. Initial production is 5,000 a day and will eventually reach 20,000.
De Quiros said efforts to increase production capacity would help eliminate the backlog. SSS, which has about 27 million members, said the backlog for IDs has reached 600,000.
“We expect to eliminate it [backlog] in two months,” De Quiros said. SSS members who currently have their IDs may still use it while waiting for their UMID cards.
Those who have lost their IDs and are applying for replacement are required to pay a P300 fee. /Inquirer
