Some 73,225 older persons from Region 3 can now benefit from the door-to-door delivery of stipends/grants under the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) starting July 2016.
This developed after the renewal of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office III (DSWD FO III) and the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) was executed on July 14, 2016.
The partnership has started in 2015 where 32,460 seniors aged 65 and above in selected cities and municipalities in Central Luzon.
The DSWD FO III will disburse the amount of P2,196,750 to 73,225 seniors aged 60 and above in 130 municipalities and cities in Central Luzon, Assistant Regional Director Venus Rebuldela said. The seniors were among the identified beneficiaries of SPISC based on the result of the data generated by the Listahanan or National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) of the DSWD.
DSWD, the lead agency in the implementation of the SPISC, has identified PVB which has the capabilities to perform the service of distributing the cash grants/stipends to SPISC beneficiaries in selected cities and municipalities in the region. PVB was procured through public bidding and the MOA is in accordance to RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).
The PVB shall implement the pay-out of the grants/stipends to SPISC beneficiaries via door-to-door delivery in their respective addresses in accordance with the master list from DSWD. Pay-out should be completed within 30 calendar days from PVB’s receipt of the check and master list.
Based on the MOA, PVB shall release the grant only to the SPISC beneficiary and will not release the grant to a representative even if armed with a special power of attorney. PVB shall only pay beneficiaries who have complied with the requirements.
DSWD shall pay PVB a service fee of P100.00 for every grant/stipend successfully delivered and paid out.
To date, there are 73,225 indigent senior citizens who will be benefiting from SPISC in Region III. All of the target beneficiaries for 2016 are now covered by the door to door scheme, Rebuldela added.
The grant/stipend under the SPISC is an additional government assistance given to indigent senior citizens pursuant to Republic Act No. 9994 also known as Expanded Senior citizens Act of 2010. It aims to augment the daily subsistence and other medical needs of Filipino indigent senior citizens.
Under the operational guidelines issued by the DSWD, senior citizens who are 60 years old and above and 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 in the first month of each quarter.
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. ### (Evelyn T. Manalo)
