3.7M indigent seniors get social pension

(UPDATES) MORE than 3.7 million indigent senior citizens across the country received their social pensions from January to June this year.

«The department has disbursed a total of P21.8 billion for the first half of 2024 to a total of 3,723,323 indigent senior citizens nationwide,» Department of Social Welfare and Development Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said Wednesday.

«This year, the Department started to distribute the increased pension of P1,000 from P500,» she added.

Filipino residents wait for their turn for free medical service and a free bag of groceries in Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila, Philippines, 11 July 2024. EPA-EFE/FRANCIS R. MALASIG

Republic Act 9994, also known as the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, established the Social Pension, a program that provides indigent senior citizens with a monthly allowance of P500 to help with their daily expenses and medical needs.

Under Republic Act 11916, also known as An Act Increasing the Social Pension of Senior Citizens, which went into effect in July 2022, poor senior citizens would now be entitled to a monthly stipend of P1,000, which was increased from P500 beginning January 2024.

«Seniors who are qualified to receive social pension are any elderly, ages 60 and older, who are frail, sick, or with disability and without any pension from other government agencies,» Dumlao said.

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«Seniors without a permanent source of income, a source of financial assistance, or compensation to support their basic needs are also eligible for the social pension,» she added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized the need to ensure that no Filipino, particularly those from the most disadvantaged sectors, is left behind.

The Social Pension Program is one of the efforts put in place to fulfill the present administration's goal of a better Philippines.