In the Philippines, pensioners are required to accomplish the so-called Annual Confirmation of Pensioners (ACOP) of the Social Security System (SSS) to ensure that the pensioners (especially the old ones) are still alive and receiving the benefits they needed.
While it is understandable that this is something necessary for the agency to ensure they are not sending pensions to pensioners who had actually been dead for years, many families find this difficult to accomplish, especially when the pensioners have already become bed-ridden and the family could not afford to bring them to the SSS office or the nearest bank in a comfortable, easy manner.
Netizen Jarra Cortez Garcia shared a photo of a woman carrying an old lady inside a public vehicle. It was obvious that the woman was having difficulties carrying the old lady but she revealed that they didn’t own a wheelchair.
The two were on their way to the SSS office to accomplish the ACOP.
Finding their situation rather difficult, the woman said she wished someone could help them out, perhaps a news network; thus, Garcia took a photo and shared it on Facebook, knowing that the family would surely get the help they needed if the post goes viral.
The old lady was identified as Nanay Estella Sarmiento who hails from General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite.
It was also revealed that Nanay Estella has diabetes; she had lost a big toe to the condition. According to her daughter, Nanay Estella had started becoming really weak when the big toe was amputated.
The family was so poor they didn’t have enough money to buy Nanay Estella’s medications or bring her to the hospital. No one else is helping them and they have to go to the SSS office in this manner.
This angered many people but some netizens pointed out that Nanay Estella doesn’t have to personally go to the SSS office or bank, especially because of her condition.
What are the Documents Required for ACOP of Disabled Pensioners?
Disabled pensioners and those who couldn’t personally go to the bank or SSS for the ACOP can refer to the following table for the documents they need to accomplish:
