SSS got ‘good’ score on anti-red tape test

This is to offer our comments on the new items titled “67 gov’t agencies fail anti-red tape test,” which appeared in the Philippine STAR on Feb. 27. The article discussed the performance of various government agencies, including the Social Security System (SSS), on the 2013 Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) Anti-Red Tape Act Report Card Survey.

Based on the CSC report sent to us, SSS has garnered a “Good” overall score of 82.66 in the said survey. It was higher than our “Acceptable” overall grade of 79.28 in the 2012 CSC survey.

In the 2013 survey, 27 out of the 32 surveyed SSS offices attained the passing score of higher than 70, including five SSS branches that received an “Excellent” score of 90 and above.

As cited in the new item, five SSS branches – or 16 percent of the 32 total SSS offices surveyed in 2013 – received “Failed” scores of below 70. However, we note that this was a marked improvement from the percentage of SSS offices with “Failed” ratings in the 2012 CSC survey, with 24 percent of the 122 SSS branches surveyed that year failing to meet the passing mark.

We acknowledge both our strengths and areas for improvement cited in the CSC survey, and we will continue to strive to meet the challenges brought about by our continuously-expanding membership, now 30-million strong. — MARISSA G. BUGANTE, Vice President, Public Affairs and Special Events Division, SSS