So after two years, I finally decided to apply for the SSS UMID. I did not apply immediately when news came that there would be a new ID, since for sure there would be many people applying for it and my application might just end up at the bottom of the bin.
Anyway, here's my adventure.
7:30am - left the house.
7:45am - reached SSS San Francisco del Monte branch. There was a lot of people lined up already but only a few employees were available.
7:50am - got the E-6 form. The form in their website is not updated so might as well get from an SSS branch.
8:00am - finished filling up the form and figuring out where to line up. I swear this was the most confusing part.
8:10am - the line is moving! Figured out that one of their employees is now available.
8:35am - presented E-6 form to SSS employee. For valid IDs, I showed him my company ID and ATM card with complete name. I forgot to take a photo of the IDs required, but here's what I can remember:
- Primary IDs like passport, seaman's book, PRC.
- Secondary IDs (present two of these with one of them with your photo):
- Valid NBI clearance (validity is up to one year from date printed, so check first)
- Company/school ID
- ATM card with complete name (if no name, present bank certification)
- Credit card (not specified if complete name is needed but maybe same with the ATM card rules)
- Birth certificate
- Baptismal certificate
- Baranggay clearance
- Driver's license
- Postal ID
- Voter's ID
- TIN ID (although I don't think the BIR issues this anymore, not sure)
This is all I can remember :( For a complete list, you can get an E-6 form at the closest SSS branch.
8:37am - my identity has been verified and I proceeded to biometrics. This is the last step. It takes around 3-5 minutes to finish.
8:40am - out of the SSS office and off to Jollibee. Yahoo! :)
Some tips:
- Bring all the valid IDs you can think of. You'll never know how strict/overbearing the employee assigned to verify your identity will be. In my case though, he wasn't strict and was really following the list of requirements.
- If you brought your own E-6 form, make sure that it is not outdated. Better yet, get a new one from the branch and fill it up. Some people brought outdated forms this morning and unfortunately those were not accepted.
- Do not wear any jewelry near the face like earrings, nose rings, necklaces. They will ask you to take them off before taking your photo anyway.
- Do not wear contact lenses, for the same reason as tip #2.
- Do not be afraid to ask. Guards and employees assume that you already know what you are doing once you're inside the branch. They don't help out if you don't ask.
That's it! Now all I have to do is wait for the ID to be delivered. :)
Here's the email I sent UNICEF. I really hope they do something about this, since this is already considered harassment.
Fortunately the said volunteer was not there yesterday.
"I'm not sure who to report this to but your email addresses are the only ones I saw in the UNICEF site.
There
is this UNICEF volunteer/agent that scared me last week. I don't really
mind these volunteers being persuasive as long as they back off once
I've said no (although most of them become persistent even though I've
said no already, but that's another story).
This particular volunteer is male, of average height and with
black glasses. I'm describing him since I don't have his name. I first
encountered him a Thursday last week. He approached me and I said "No"
for about 3 times before he backed off and said "Thank you". I found it
annoying but I let it go.
The following day, I saw him again and as soon as he saw me (I
was amidst maybe more than 10 people whom he just let pass without
asking at least one of them to donate), I waved him off but he went a
bit near me and said, "Tagong-tago Ma'am ah.", loosely translated as
"You're really hiding Ma'am.". This has made me feel threatened and to
be honest I am a bit scared of going through the underpass again later
but I have no choice as it's the only way I can get to the other side of
Ayala since it's the one nearest my office (Ayala Life FGU).
Kindly have someone look into this, please. Thank you."
*** Update
UNICEF replied. See below.
"Thank you for taking time to write to us.
We apologize for anything you found unsettling about
the behavior of our fundraiser. It’s not the type of behavior that
UNICEF condones, and we want to take immediate action to prevent the
representative from making the same mistakes.
Per your account, the fundraiser concerned was on
duty on Thursday and Friday afternoon, March 14 & 15. May we verify
if the incident occurred in the Paseo de Roxas underpass or the RCBC
underpass?
Your valuable feedback will certainly help us improve our fundraising for children. As you may know, UNICEF is not funded
by the UN and relies solely on voluntary contributions. Thus,
fundraising is an important enabler for us to carry out our program work
in Health & Nutrition, Education, Water, Hygiene and Sanitation or
WASH, Emergencies and Child Protection.
APPCO Group Asia is the
official fundraising partner of UNICEF in the East Asia Pacific Region.
In the Philippines, UNICEF works with its subsidiary, APPCO Philippines,
for the Individual Fundraising/ Face-to-Face Campaign. APPCO manages
the recruitment of fundraisers, and we will continue improving our joint
efforts to work only with this those who can genuinely represent
UNICEF’s ideals, and effectively deliver results for children.
Once more, our sincerest apologies. We look forward to hearing from you."
