NO FUNDS YET FOR SOCIAL PENSION OF THOUSANDS OF WAITLISTED SENIORS

The DSWD has no enough funds for the social pension of over 600,000 waitlisted indigent senior citizens, saying they really don’t have the funds to pay them (Photo courtesy of ABS-CBN News)

About 600,000 waitlisted indigent senior citizens has still no guarantee that they will receive the P1,000 monthly social pension from the government as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has no funding according to Senator Imee Marcos.

Senior citizens are still waiting for the cash assistance mandated by the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2022. In 2023, about 490,000 senior citizens who were supposed to receive their pension were waitlisted and did not get what was due them due to the lack of funds. 

The senator said that the number has ballooned to more than 600,000 and might further increase to 800,000 of waitlisted elderly and stating “The new seniors, we really don't have anything to pay for them.” Adding that there was also no funding yet for those who were waitlisted. 

The waitlisted elderly will still not be covered in the 2025 budget of the DSWD as it is still insufficient. “This P49.8 billion that’s in the NEP, which we increased a little to P49.81 billion it will still be insufficient, to be honest.”

But Marcos said senior citizens who were already on the list have been paid. “Payment is continuous if you are already on the list. The problem is that the number is ballooning and our budget cannot handle it.”

“But if they were already on the list, it might just be delayed or take a long time, but they should be paid,” she added. The social pension fund is directly transferred to local government units (LGUs), Marcos said.

Meanwhile, the House Bill 10985 or the Employment Opportunities for Senior Citizens and Private Entities’ Incentives has been approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading, mandating the Department of Labor to provide job opportunities for people aged 60 years old and above.

The bill enjoins all government agencies and private entities to institute an employment program that shall promote the general well-being of senior citizens and ensure access to employment opportunities to those who have the qualifications, capacity, and interest to be employed.

The bill also grants additional incentives to private entities that employ senior citizens. It also mandates that employ senior citizens will be entitled to an additional deduction from their gross income, equivalent to 25% of the total amount paid as salaries, wages, benefits, and trainings provided to senior citizens.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer 

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