The Social Security System (SSS) is set to provide calamity loan assistance to members who have been affected by Typhoon ‘Carina’ in the National Capital Region and in areas that may soon be declared under state of calamity. SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said that members in typhoon-stricken areas can borrow a loan equivalent to their one monthly salary credit or up to a maximum of P20,000. “SSS will always be ready to assist our members in typhoon-affected areas. We want to assure them that in times of calamities, they can rely on SSS to provide them the needed financial assistance as they recover from Typhoon Carina,” Macasaet said. To qualify, typhoon-affected members must: Have at least 36 monthly contributions, six of which must be posted within the last 12 months before the month of filing of application; Be living or residing in the declared calamity area; Be below 65 years old at the time of loan application; Have no final benefit claim such as permanent total disability or retirement; Have no past due SSS Short-Term Member Loans; Have no outstanding restructured loan or calamity loan. Macasaet said that interested members can apply for the calamity loan using their My.SSS account via www.sss.gov.ph. “Once approved, the loan proceeds will be credited to the member’s registered Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID)-ATM Card or their active accounts with a Philippine Electronic Fund Transfer System and Operations Network (PESONet) participating bank,” Macasaet explained. He said members could pay the calamity loan in two years or 24 equal monthly installments with an annual interest rate of 10 percent. “We hope that through the calamity loan assistance, we may be able to help typhoon-affected members as they recover from the adverse effects of Typhoon Carina,” Macasaet concluded.

Nears completion of service restoration in typhoon-hit areas Globe on Friday started deploying Libreng Tawag and Libreng Charging (LT/LC) stations in areas that need connectivity support in the wake of Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon. Globe’s LT/LC station was first rolled out in Barangay Tatalon in Quezon City. Location: Diosdado Macapagal Elementary School, Victory Avenue, Tatalon, QC Schedule:  July 26 to 28, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Meanwhile, Globe has nearly completed restoration work in areas hit by service disruptions due to commercial power outages. As of 9 a.m. Friday, call, text and data services in affected areas in Metro Manila have been fully restored. Most services are also at 100% in towns and cities in Abra, Bataan, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, La Union, Pangasinan, Tarlac and Zambales that experienced outages. Restoration work is also round the clock in affected areas in Rizal, Batanes, Benguet, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Quirino. “Our personnel are working double time to quickly restore service in other affected areas. We have also started rolling out our free call and charging stations to give connectivity support in areas reeling from the impact of the typhoon,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer. Earlier, Globe provided Globe Prepaid and TM users free calls, texts and data for one day, and extended due dates to Mobile and Broadband Postpaid customers. KonsultaMD, Globe’s telehealth provider, also provided one free video consultation voucher valid for one time use within one month via the code ALAGANGGLOBE. Globe continues to call on customers to send help to severely hit families. Customers may donate their Globe Rewards points through the GlobeOne app. For more information on Globe’s disaster response and Globe Stores operations, follow GlobeICON on Facebook or visit the Globe website for the latest #StaySafePH advisories.      

Outages due to commercial power failure  Globe has begun restoration work in a few areas in Metro Manila and Northern Luzon affected by service disruptions due to commercial power failure following the devastation of Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon. As of 9 a.m. Thursday, over 90% of Globe’s Mobile sites in Metro Manila were up and running, with few facilities down due to power outages. None of the 3G sites were affected. In Northern Luzon, more than 95% of 2G, 3G, LTE and 5G sites were operational. “As the weather has improved and floods have subsided, our personnel are now working on quickly restoring services in the few isolated areas that experienced disruptions in their call, text and data services,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer. Globe has not recorded any damage to network infrastructure. “Overall, our network remains intact and stable, providing communications services critical to relief and recovery operations in typhoon-hit areas. It is proof that our network resilience efforts work,” Crisanto added. Globe earlier prepositioned personnel and equipment in areas forecast to bear the impact of the typhoon and habagat to ensure quick response in case of network emergencies. The weather system, which dumped non-stop rains across Luzon Wednesday, brought catastrophic flooding to major roads and villages in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon. It intensified into a super typhoon Wednesday afternoon before weakening into a typhoon just before making landfall in Taiwan. At the height of the devastation, Globe extended connectivity support to customers, giving Globe Prepaid and TM users free calls, texts and data, and extending due date extension to Mobile and Broadband Postpaid customers. Globe’s telehealth provider KonsultaMD also provided one free video consultation voucher valid for one time use within one month via the code ALAGANGGLOBE. Globe customers may send help to severely affected families by donating their Globe Rewards points via the GlobeOne app.