MANILA – Nineteen social security institutions across the ASEAN region on Tuesday received recognition at the ASEAN Social Security Association (ASSA) Recognition Awards 2024 for their innovations in service delivery and best practices.
The awards, presented during the 41st ASSA Meetings at the Seda Manila Bay Hotel, acknowledged excellence across seven categories: continuous improvement, customer service, information technology, innovation, insurance coverage, investment governance, and transformation.
Philippine institutions were recognized in several categories:
• Government Service Insurance System (GSIS): Innovation Award for its Ginhawa for All Lease with Option to Buy Housing Program
• Social Security System (SSS): Innovation Award for its e-Wheels Program
• Employees’ Compensation Commission: Continuous Improvement Award for its Return-to-Work Assistance Program
• Philippine Health Insurance Corporation: Continuous Improvement Award for Benefits Development Planning Protocol
• Home Development Mutual Fund: Customer Service Award for Elevating the Customer Service Experience
Malaysia’s institutions earned three awards, while Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia each received two.
Brunei, Laos, Singapore, Myanmar and Vietnam were also recognized for their achievements in advancing social security systems.
One of the awardees is SSS’ e-Wheels, a program that includes mobile offices equipped with facilities to reach people in remote areas or places with no access to internet and technology.
“Mostly, these are the last mile communities. They have challenges about online facilities, about going to SSS,” SSS executive vice president Elvira Alcantara Resare said.
“Usually, they are the household helpers, tricycle drivers, usually those from the informal sector,” she added.
From January to September, the SSS has conducted 9, 613 e-Wheels activities nationwide, accommodating over 989, 000 transactions.
Resare said the sharing of best practices in social security among institutions during the meetings would benefit the SSS in improving their services.
“One of the challenges is ageing. Many people live long, so the challenge is contributions because bigger, more benefits must be provided,” she said.
Also cited was Brunei’s Employee Trust Fund’s (ETF) National Retirement Scheme.
The measure implemented a feature allowing members to nominate an administrator, who would manage and distribute their savings to the next of kin in the event of their passing.
“Usually what happens is when a member passes away, the family members [have] to find out who is the administrator. So, this can lead to difficult and lengthy procedures,” ETF Senior External Strategist Nur Shahreena Abdullah said.
“With this new feature, it actually allows the member to decide early,” she added.
Abdullah said Brunei, which will host the next ASSA meetings in 2025, is heading toward digitalization and keen to learning more best practices from its peers in the region.
“The discussions in this year’s meetings revolved around transformation, integration on IT, so it’s quite insightful to see all the ASSA members sharing their best practices on data information, artificial intelligence, and analytics— these are quite useful to Brunei,” Abdullah said.
The awards ceremony was part of the 41st ASSA Meetings, hosted by the Philippine Social Security Association through the GSIS and SSS.
During the event, GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo Veloso assumed the ASSA Chairpersonship.
“These recognitions reflect the collective commitment across ASEAN to strengthen social security systems,” said Veloso.
“Each institution brings unique innovations that contribute to our shared goal of better serving our respective communities.”
ASSA is a non-government organization that fosters collaboration among social security institutions in ASEAN member states. It was established to promote the development of social security systems that address the needs of diverse populations while aligning with national laws and regulations. (PNA)