Modern and convenient Tigbauan Post Office in Iloilo province inaugurated

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In its continuing thrust to make its services more accessible and convenient to the public, the Philippine Postal Corporation (Post Office) has opened another LGU-assisted Post Office located in Tigbauan, Iloilo province.

Postmaster General Norman Fulgencio, Tigbauan Municipal Mayor Virgilio T. Teruel, Vice Mayor Lugen T. Ortilano, Atty. Benjie Yotoko, Assistant Postmaster General for Management Support Services, Chief of Staff Atty. Ayzeris B. Ong and Ms. Donabel Asuncion, Post Office Regional Postal Area 6 Director, formally led the blessing and inauguration of the newly constructed Tigbauan Post Office.

Mayor Teruel expressed his profound gratitude to the Post Office management led by Postmaster General Norman Fulgencio to accommodate the request of the people of Tigbauan and provide post office services such as Postal ID capturing, express mail service, mail and parcel delivery, registered mail and postage stamps.

“Over the years, the Philippine Postal System was created by our forefathers to connect the world through communication and it should not only be protected and sustained but also improved. We, postal workers, are guardians in ensuring that we evolve and improve the postal experience in this changing world through technology”, Postmaster General Norman Fulgencio said.

The Post Office has a website wherein people can order stamps and other products and in the coming months, the Post Office mobile applications shall be operational, where the public can track mail and parcels, pay customs duties and taxes, and pay online on government services among others.

“Initially, we have Thirteen (13) pilot post offices under the UBX Philippines and Post Office pilot project and are now adding another one to include the Municipality of Tigbauan. The Post Office that they have built is quite impressive and a model in the province of Iloilo. The Post Office in the municipality of Tigbauan shall be one of the key areas in the country to be digitally transformed into a financial hub to promote financial and social inclusion", he said.

The project will be crucial in uplifting the lives of Filipinos by bringing post office services closer to the communities.

SSS, RCBC promote financial inclusion among members through the UMID Pay Cards

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The Social Security System (SSS) and the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) recently signed a pact that will make every SSS member become part of the financial system through the UMID Pay Cards at the SSS Main Office in Quezon City.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Michael G. Regino (3rd from left) and RCBC President and Chief Executive Officer Eugene S. Acevedo (4th from left) led the signing ceremonies of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that will authorize RCBC to issue UMID Pay Cards to SSS members.


SSS welcomes RCBC, one of the country’s leading universal banks, as its newest partner in producing UMID Pay Cards.


Regino said that RCBC will start issuing UMID Pay Cards to SSS members in the first quarter of 2023.


“SSS and RCBC are already in the process of systems integration, and we are looking forward to rolling it out early next year,” he added.


Aside from being a valid government-issued ID, the UMID Pay Card will also serve as an ATM card since it will be linked to the member’s chosen Bank account, such as RCBC savings account. The UMID Pay Card Bank account will have no required starting and maintaining balance and will be the default disbursement account where the proceeds of their SSS benefits, loan, will be readily credited.


"We are looking forward to a meaningful partnership with RCBC as SSS moves toward the financial inclusion of our members, especially those from the agricultural and fishing sector of our society as well as all workers in the informal economy. We are hoping that with this union which are only IDs will already have their UMID Pay Cards,” the SSS Chief added.


Generally, most Filipinos do not have a bank account because they lack identification requirements such as a valid ID or enough money to open a bank account.


With the UMID Pay Cards, SSS members can use this to check their balance, withdraw cash, transfer funds, pay bills, or deposit cash through RCBC branches, ATMs, and its online banking facility.


Aside from the MOA, SSS and RCBC officials also signed the Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement and Data Sharing Agreements to protect the biometric data and personal information of SSS members to be used in producing the UMID Pay Cards.

Also present during the MOA signing are (standing from left to right) SSS Identity Management Department Head Jose Antonio L. Salazar (leftmost side), SSS Senior Vice President for Member Services and Support Group Normita M. Doctor (2nd from left), RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer Angelito M. Villanueva (3rd from right), RCBC Vice President for Go-to-Market and Scale Division Digital Enterprise and Innovations Group Robert Alexander O. Campos (2nd from right), and RCBC Senior Manager for Customer Activations and Strategic Partnerships Department Kirsten B. Nagrampa (rightmost side).

Construction of new Manila International Airport in Bulacan in full swing

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The Department of Transportation (DOTr) led by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista is closely monitoring developments in the P735-billion New Manila International Airport (NMIA) which is now rising in the province of Bulacan.

Secretary Bautista on Saturday joined other transport officials in conducting an inspection of the new international airport’s build site in Bulakan town as construction of the country’s largest and most sophisticated gateway goes full swing.

Land development works are now being done at the airport’s 1,693-hectare site which is located 35 kilometers north of Metro Manila.

Works on the NMIA officially started on September 18, 2019, when the government, through the DOTr, signed a concession agreement with San Miguel Aerocity Inc. (SMAI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of San Miguel Holdings Corp., and the infrastructure arm of San Miguel Corporation.

The DOTr and the SMAI are working together to make sure that the project complies with environmental protection requirements, particularly flood mitigation, considering the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) which was conducted prior to commencement of works at the airport site.

Also joining Secretary Bautista in the inspection of the airport construction site was San Miguel Corporation (SMC) president and CEO Ramon Ang.

Secretary Bautista is assuring stakeholders of the new international airport that the gateway will soon be open for business. Operations at the new gateway are targeted to start in 2027.

Once built, the new international airport will be fully owned by the government under a “build-operate-transfer” program.

Once operational, the new gateway will not only help decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as the capital’s main gateway, but will also be a “game changer” and catalyst of economic growth in Central Luzon. Phase 1 of the airport will have a capacity of 35 million passengers per annum, is expected generate more than 1 million jobs, and rake-in increased foreign direct investments and higher exports.

Under the 50-year concession agreement, SMAI will undertake the financing, design, construction, supply, completion, testing, commissioning, and operation and maintenance (O&M) of the new international gateway.

With a design capacity of up to 100 million passengers annually and plans for four parallel runways, the New Manila International Airport is expected to help decongest the NAIA and enable the airports in the Greater Capital Region (Metro Manila and nearby provinces) to meet forecast passenger demand.