(City of San Fernando, Pampanga) At least 44,134 older persons are benefiting from the Social Pension Program for older persons this year.

Regional Director Gemma B. Gabuya of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office III (DSWD FO III) said that there is an increase of 13,027 beneficiaries for this year due to the lowering of the age requirement from 77 to 65 years old and above.

From the 31,107 beneficiaries in 2014 with P500 monthly stipend or P6,000.00 each for one year or the total amount of P128,780,500, the allocation has increased to P264,804 million for the implementation of the program this year, Gabuya said.

The senior citizens were identified based on the result of the data generated by the Listahanan or National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) of the DSWD.

The provision of the P500 monthly social pension to indigent senior citizens is provided under Republic Act No. 9994, also known as the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.”

The DSWD has issued operational guidelines that senior citizens who are 65 years old and above who meet the eligibility criteria will benefit from this program. All qualified senior citizens shall receive their P500 monthly social pension on a quarterly basis.

Under RA 9994, indigent senior citizens shall be entitled to a monthly social pension of P500 to augment their daily subsistence and other medical needs. Indigent senior citizens are those who are frail, sick, disabled, not receiving monthly pension from Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), Armed Forces of the Philippines Savings and Loan Association, Inc. (AFPSLAI) and other private insurance companies. Senior citizens who do not have permanent source of income or regular support from their families or relatives are also qualified to avail of the program. ### (Social Marketing Unit)