Shortage of ATMs, poor cell phone reception in Sulu decried

SULU – Six years after leading banking institutions operating in Sulu pledged to install more automated teller machines (ATM) in the capital town of Jolo to better serve their depositors, the problems remain the same – the long queues at ATM terminals especially during paydays is a headache to many customers.

People queue to withdraw money from an ATM at the Philippine National Bank in Jolo town. (Photos courtesy of Nidz-Har Usman)

Governor Sakur Tan had previously met with bank executives to discuss with them the need for more ATMs in Jolo. He noted that government employees and private citizens withdraw their salaries from ATMs, causing long queues and affecting traffic during payday periods. He said the provincial government is fully supportive of the banking institutions in Sulu.

Among the major banks that are operating in Sulu are the Development Bank of the Philippines, Al-Amanah Bank, Allied Bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.,Philippine National Bank and Land Bank of the Philippines.

Tan said many people would queue up, rain or shine, outside the banks’ branches during payday just to be able to withdraw money from ATMs. “We want these banks to put more ATMs so they can accommodate more clients,” he said.

He said the long queues at ATM terminals have been causing traffic problems in Jolo and has affected commuters and the public in general.

Tan said government agencies in Jolo such as the Department of Education, the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines should have ATMs at their provincial headquarters to make it easy for employees and security personnel to get their salaries.

If implemented, it would also lessen the number of people withdrawing money from ATMs in downtown Jolo, he said. Land Bank, Allied Bank and Metrobank assured Tan that more ATMs would be installed in Sulu,including at the Capitol Building, to provide the public more efficient banking services. 

Nahdin Jubaira, who works at the Sulu provincial government, asked this question after photographs of people queuing at an ATM outside the PNB went viral on Facebook. “The million dollar question is: This has been going on for a long time. This demands appropriate attention by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,” he wrote on his Facebook page, and accompanying it are the pictures taken by Nidz-Har Usman.

Usman alsowrote this on his Facebook page and appealed to bank managers to resolve the shortage of ATMs in Jolo and calling it a very old problem: “Kamu manga namamarintaiban manga managers sin bank ha Jolo, address niyo kunuh in very old problempag pila ha ATM. Put more ATM machines da in solution ha problem.” 

Residents also decried the lack of cell sites in the province and most of the time mobile phone reception is poor and so is the Internet connection. Globe Telecoms and Smart Communications operate in Sulu. (Mindanao Examiner)

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