QUEZON CITY -- In a continued effort to improve the living conditions of the elderly sector, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) supports the advocacy of the different organizations and stakeholders to expand the Social Pension Program.

Pursuant to Republic Act No. 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, only indigent senior citizens are eligible to receive a 500 peso-monthly stipend from the government. As defined in the said act, indigent senior citizens are those 60 years old and above, frail, sickly or with disability; have no permanent source of income and regular support from their family. This serves as the Department’s eligibility criteria to determine beneficiaries of the program across all 17 regions of the country.

Noting the limitations set by RA 9994, various groups and individuals have been appealing to amend the same law, which pushes the House of Representatives and Senate to pass a bill proposing for a universal coverage of the social pension.

The DSWD, on the other hand, emphasized that it champions the endeavor to expand the coverage of social pension and to increase the budget allocation so the majority of the elderly sector will be assisted and accorded with an augmentation for their daily subsistence and medical needs. Hence, the Department is one with the proponents in their intent to further promote the rights and welfare of senior citizens.

Meanwhile, the DSWD lauds the initiatives of some local government units, which are supplementing the program through the provision of financial assistance to seniors in their localities.

The Department is committed to continue to advocate the welfare and rights of the most vulnerable, including the elderly sector. (DSWD)