Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 25) — After failing to hurdle the House of Representatives, the proposed universal pension for senior citizens gets a renewed push in the Senate.
In a hearing of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development on Tuesday, Senior Citizens Party-list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes cited budget constraints as reason why the House passed a bill increasing the monthly social pension from ₱500 to ₱1,000 — but only for indigent elderlies.
The group Aksyon sa Pensyon (AKAP) Coalition said this is not enough, adding that the government even owes the elderly due to lapses in the implementation of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act.
“Ang kasunduan natin noong unang inimplement ito ay every now and then irereview natin at iuupgrade. Wala pong upgrading na nangyari kaya po may utang po kayo sa amin so wag po ninyo kaming bigyan ng ₱1,000,” said Floro Francisco, representative of the AKAP Coalition.
“Ang kailangan po natin kung maaari ay ₱1,500 although alam nating lahat na hindi ito sapat para sa pangangailangan ng senior citizens,” he added.
[Translation: Our agreement was to review and upgrade the law every now and then. No upgrading happened so you owe us, do not give us ₱1,000. We need ₱1,500 if possible, although we all know even this is not enough for the needs of senior citizens.]
The National Anti-Poverty Commission’s Senior Citizen Sectoral Council made the same pitch. It estimates around ₱180 billion would have to be allocated yearly to provide a ₱1,500 monthly pension for some 10 million senior citizens.
Citing a 2020 census by the Philippine Statistics Authority, Senator Joel Villanueva said there are 12 million individuals aged 60 and above in the country. Under Senator Risa Hontiveros’ proposed “Lingap Para Kay Lolo at Lola Act,” all those aged 65 and above should be eligible for social pension, regardless of socio-economic status.
In its position paper, the NAPC identified possible sources of funding, including the social pension fund from the General Appropriations Act, unutilized funds of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the local government units’ share from state revenues, among others.
“The amount is large, yes, but affordable and therefore, the program is feasible,” NAPC Sectoral Representative Salvacion Basciano said.
The departments of finance and budget said they needed more data to determine the exact budget for a universal pension program.
According to the Department of Finance, doubling the stipend for low-income senior citizens alone entails an additional ₱22.7 billion. Instead of increasing the social pension, the DOF recommends the provision of additional benefits to be shouldered by LGUs.
The DSWD, on the other hand, supports the proposed universal pension, as relayed by its National Focal Person of Social Pension, Analiza Salud.
The government gave pensions to 3.4 million senior citizens last year. Salud said there were delays in the payouts, but some 400,000 others are set to receive their stipends in the first quarter of the year.
