Elderly in Talisay to get monthly pension

MANILA, Philippines - Talisay City's senior citizens can now expect a P500 monthly pension from the city government thanks to the city council.

The council approved a resolution authorizing Mayor Socrates Fernandez to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the implementation of the "social pension for indigent senior citizens" program.

This program, according to the newly approved resolution authored by Councilor Semy Cabuenas, chairman on council committee on Social Welfare and Services, implements Republic Act No. 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

"The aforementioned law further explicitly mandates the government to provide additional assistance in the form of Social Pension to the Indigent Senior Citizens in the amount of P500," read a portion of the resolution.

Under the law, the DSWD is tasked to implement the special pension program.

Cabuenas said the city has been identified through the DSWD’s National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) as a site with indigent senior citizens "eligible" for the pension.