In the third quarter of 2024, 293,923 indigent senior citizens in the region have already received a total of PHP 9,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 7 – Central Visayas.

DSWD 7 targets to deliver 100% of the increased stipend of PHP 1,000 to 299,737 by the end of the year which will give them a total of Php 12,000.

Of the target number, provincial breakdowns are as follows: 127,439 (Cebu), 99,490 (Bohol), 62,287 (Negros Oriental), and 10,521 (Siquijor).

Regional Director Shalaine Marie S. Lucero shared that the distribution frequency shifted from semestral to quarterly payout due to the request of the senior citizens to change. “They think that the payout on a semestral basis makes them wait longer, rather than receiving it quarterly. Because of this, we are now paying them quarterly with Php 3,000 every payout,” she explained.

The Republic Act 11916, or the Act Increasing the Social Pension of Indigent Senior Citizens, provides for a 100 percent increase in the monthly stipend to help beneficiaries with the sustained price increase of various commodities such as food, milk, medicines, vitamins, and other needs.

The law also directed the Department to release the stipend either through direct payout or fund transfer to local government units.

For this year, 125 LGUs used fund transfer which facilitated the payout using their preferred schedule and venue, a move which directly benefited the senior citizens in receiving the stipend on-time at their respective barangays, through door-to-door delivery, or use of authorization for those who cannot physically claim.

According to Lucero, about 50,000 qualified indigent senior citizens are still on the waiting list for inclusion because of the limited number of beneficiaries of the program. “We highly appreciate the local government units for giving local pensions to those not covered by the DSWD’s social pension,” she said.

DSWD reiterates that the social pension program is only for those individuals who are frail, sick, or have a disability, or those who have no permanent source of income or regular support and must have no pension from government or private agencies. ###

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