DAVAO CITY (PIA) -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) XI calls anew the indigent senior citizens in the region to enlist themselves and avail of the Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) of the agency.
DSWD-XI Grievance Focal Jacquelyn Refugio said that the program aimed at supplementing the daily subsistence of the indigent senior citizens, especially on their medical needs, through the provision of a monthly stipend amounting to P500.
Under Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, the SPISC is an additional government assistance that aims to improve the condition of indigent senior citizens by augmenting their daily and medical needs, reducing the incidence of hunger, and protecting them from neglect, abuse, deprivation, and natural and man-made disasters.
Qualified senior citizens are those frail, sickly or with a disability, not receiving pension from the government insurance providers or any other insurance company, and those with no regular income and no regular support, Refugio said during her guesting at the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao on Monday, October 2.
She said that the agency does not give special treatment to the applicants nor cater only to those who are endorsed by the punong barangays.
All program applicants will have to undergo the process, such as the eligibility assessment administered by trained social workers, she said.
The qualified applicants may visit and apply for the program at their local social welfare development offices and undergo an eligibility assessment to determine whether they are qualified or not.
Meanwhile, Refugio reported that as of the second semester, the agency has started the distribution of the financial assistance to a total of 289,700 senior citizen beneficiaries in Davao Region, of whom 66,702 senior citizens in Davao City have already been provided cash assistance; 47,200 in Davao Oriental; and 42,248 in Davao del Sur.
The beneficiaries in Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, and Davao Occidental are set to receive their social pension in November.
For the deceased beneficiaries, Refugio clarified that only those beneficiaries who passed away within the coverage months for a payout are eligible for assistance. (ASO/CLC, PIA-XI)
