By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The individual accused of involvement with a “fixer” scam within the Social Security System (SSS) in Bacolod City has been cleared. In an exclusive interview with Watchmen Daily Journal yesterday morning, a woman who has requested to be identified only as ‘Rose’ claimed the accused, a certain ‘Melende,’ is not involved in any illegal activities inside the SSS and said the real culprit is a certain ‘Lydia.’
According to Rose, Melende is one of her business partners and she never went door-to-door in Barangay Singcang-Airport.
“It’s unfair that Melende was named in the SSS case,” she said. “She maintains a business and we are partners.”
Rose said, following the incident, she claimed they immediately coordinated SSS-Bacolod office head Lina Hilado, wherein a picture of Lydia was already taken by the office. Additionally, Rose claimed that she, along with her husband, were nearly scammed by Lydia, who requested P2,000 as a service fee for processing a loan.
Once a loan is made available, a cash card is provided; however, a three-day period is needed before funds could be withdrawn. In Lydia’s case, she asked for a percentage of the loan.
Rose said they backed out of the deal when Lydia refused any amount below the P2,000 she was asking for.
Earlier, Hilado said a pensioner went to her office last week claiming that an individual introducing themselves as an employee of SSS requested P2,000 for a processing fee.
The supposed fixer would then proceed to visit local SSS pensioners and inform them SSS was offering a loan.
Hilado has since explained that SSS does not have any personnel tasked with going to door-to-door and said they are conducting a seminar as part of their information dissemination campaign in every barangays in a group, not individually.
She added, pensioners who secure a loan accrue no charges.
Pensioners who want to apply for a loan are also advised to go to their nearest SSS office and apply./DGB, WDJ