Sulu puts up ATM, CDM building

SULU - The Sulu provincial government has constructed a building that would house an Automated Teller and Cash Deposit Machines (ATM and CDM) at the Capitol compound in Patikul town in an effort to provide efficient access to electronic banking services.

 

Provincial government photos show Sulu Governor Sakur Tan as he inspects August 4, 2021 a building the provincial government puts up to house Automated Teller and Cash Deposit Machines in Patikul town. Sulu has a shortage of Automated Teller and Cash Deposit Machines.  

CDM enables a client to deposit cash directly into own bank account while an ATM dispenses cash from own bank account. 

The building, which is adjacent to the office of the Commission on Elections, is expected to be inaugurated soon. Governor Sakur Tan inspected August 4 the new building which will be used by the Land Bank of the Philippines and will benefit not only government employees, but civilian clients as well. 

The construction of the ATM and CDM building has been welcomed by civil workers and praised Tan for helping the banking sector. 

Six years after leading banking institutions operating in Sulu pledged to install more ATMs 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.

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., the 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 in more ATMs so they can accommodate more clients,” he said.

He 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 compound, to provide the public more efficient banking services. 

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

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 also wrote 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 problem pag pila ha ATM. Put more ATMs da in solution ha problem.” (You, the bank managers in Jolo, should address this very old problem of long queues in ATM (terminals). Putting more ATMs is the solution to the 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)

Like Us on Facebook: The Mindanao Examiner
Like Us on Facebook: The Zamboanga Post
Follow Us on Twitter: Mindanao Examine
Mirror Site: Mindanao Examiner Blog
Digital Archives: Mindanao Examiner Digital
Media Rates: Advertising Rates