More indigent senior citizens are now part of the Social Pension Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VII.

In its first year of implementation, only those 77 years old and above were covered by the Social Pension Program. However, for 2016, 60 years old and above can already benefit from the program.

“We just lower the age to accommodate more indigent senior citizens but the other criteria are still the same,” clarified Regional Director Ma. Evelyn B. Macapobre.

Qualified to receive the monthly pension are seniors who are:  frail, sickly, or with disability; without pension from Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Armed Forces & Police Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. (AFPMBAI), and other insurance companies; and, without any permanent source of income or regular support from his or her relatives.

“The monthly financial assistance aims to help them in their basic needs such as buying of their medicines and food,” Macapobre said.

Macapobre also acknowledge the support of the Local Government Units (LGUs) in region 7 in the fast track payment of the stipend to the identified senior citizens.

For 2016, DSWD-7 added 18,936 social pensioners to the previous 65,219 beneficiaries. Now, it reaches to 84,155 social pensioners for the said program.

The social pension is one of the social protection programs of DSWD that provides Php 500.00 monthly stipends for eligible indigent senior citizens. ###

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