AT LEAST 2,055 indigent senior citizens in Mandaue City are set to receive the approved social pension (SocPen) increase of P500.
Diosdado Suico, Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (Osca)-Mandaue City head, told SunStar Cebu on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, that they are now waiting for the directives of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on when to give the SocPen increase.
Suico said they have already sent the updated list of beneficiaries to the DSWD for validation and creation of payroll.
The SocPen distribution is targeted to be done this August.
SocPen is the government's assistance to eligible indigent senior citizens to help them meet their daily subsistence and medical requirements.
Each of the beneficiaries will get P500 monthly assistance through their Osca offices, but with the P500 increase, each of those qualified to get the aid will received a total of P1,000.
It was Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva who sponsored the SocPen bill in the 18th Congress. The measure lapsed into a law -- Republic Act 11916 -- last July 30.
Under Republic Act 11916, the funding for the increase will be sourced from sin taxes, revenues from Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law, Corporate Recovery, and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) Law, and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.
This, however, will benefit only the senior citizens currently enlisted in the program and excludes those who turn 60 this year, nor those who were already 60 and above that were left out of the list for some reasons.
The law also mandates DSWD to adjust the amount of SocPen every two years, which is subject to the approval of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and consultation and review of other stakeholders.
Suico said the law is a big help to social pensioners, stressing it would help them support their daily needs with the continuous increase of the basic commodities.
Aside from SocPen, eligible indigent senior citizens are also given financial assistance amounting to P8,000 annually given in two tranches, where the first half of P4,000 is given in May and the other half in December.
The senior financial assistance is also given to all eligible senior citizens registered in their Osca offices by their respective local government units. The amount and increase, though, will vary per LGU. (HIC)