6,000 seniors call for expanded social pension

MANILA, Philippines — At least 6,000 senior citizens are urging the Senate to pass the expanded social pension bill.

“We are asking the Senate to pass the bill before the 19th Congress closes. Our elderly are pleading amid the high prices of goods,” United Senior Citizens party-list Rep. Milagros Aquino-Magsaysay said yesterday during a rally at the Senate.

Non-indigent seniors would receive P500 monthly under the proposed measure, gradually increasing to P1,000 in five years.

To date, 4.085 million indigent seniors receive a monthly pension of P1,000, Magsaysay noted.

About seven million seniors are expected to receive pension if the Senate bill is passed.

In May last year, the lower chamber approved House Bill 10423 on third and final reading. Its counterpart measure at the Senate, filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, has been pending for about eight months.

Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo, one of the principal authors of the bill, joined the rally.

The proposed universal social pension for senior citizens “ensures that no Filipino senior is left behind,” Quimbo said.

Of the 4.085 million seniors listed in the social pension program, only 783,000 have received payouts due to logistical delays and issues with local government compliance with liquidation processes. — Delon Porcalla, Jun Elias