138,960 indigent senior citizens get P500 monthly social pension

A June 3, 2011 press release by the Department of Budget and Management

Secretary Abad: 1 million indigent senior citizens to be provided with social pension by 2012

A total of 138,960 indigent senior citizens throughout the country get their monthly social pension, as the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P435.5 million for the Social Pension fund of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the release will cover funding requirements for the monthly social pension of P500 for covered indigent senior citizens.

“This program is in line with the government’s obligation to protect the most vulnerable sectors of society. Under the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, indigent senior citizens are eligible to receive social pension to help them with their basic needs, such as food and medicine,” he said.

“For 2011, the national government has allocated P871 million for the program that benefits 138,960 indigent senior citizens. Region 5 has the most number of recipients with 13,348, followed by Region 6 with 12,981 and Region 8 with 11,532,” he said.

He said the fund release will cover the seniors’ benefits for the first semester of 2011, and another P435.5 million will be released by DBM on July this year to cover for the second half of the year. Likewise, DBM has released an additional P11.185 million to DSWD for its assistance program for older person and persons with disabilities.

REGION	NO. OF SOCIAL PENSIONERS	TOTAL
I	10,986	P65,916,000
II	3,074	18,444,000
III	8,460	50,760,000
IV-A	6,251	37,506.000
IV-B	6,054	36,324,000
V	13,348	80,088,000
VI	12,981	77,886,000
VII	11,402	68,412,000
VIII	11,532	69,192,000
IX	11,435	68,610,000
X	9,354	56,124,000
XI	7,347	44,082,000
XII	5,064	30,384,000
NCR	2,657	15,942,000
CAR	3,566	21,396,000
CARAGA	9,375	56,250,000
ARMM	6,074	36,444,000
Administrative Cost		37,240,000
Total for Social Pension	138,960	P871,000,000

Abad also said DSWD has proposed the expansion of the social pension program to reach more than a million indigent senior citizens throughout the country by 2012.

By the law’s definition, the target beneficiaries of the program are indigent senior citizens who are frail, sick, disabled, not receiving any pension, without permanent source of income, or regular support from families or relatives.