The administration has allotted P49.81 billion in next year’s proposed budget to cover the 100 percent increase in the social pension of indigent senior citizens from P500 per month to P1,000, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.
“The budget for social pension for indigent senior citizens will be doubled to P49.81 billion from P25.30 billion in 2023 to cover the increased government monthly allowance of P1,000 for more than 4 million indigent senior citizens who are not part of the pension system,” she said.
The Social Pension for Indigent Seniors Act (RA 11916), which lapsed into law on July 30, 2022, has officially doubled the monthly pension from the current P500 to P1,000 per validated indigent seniors who are frail, sickly or with a disability; with no regular income or support from family and relatives; and without pension from private or government institutions.
The budget for the SPIC Program is part of the allocations for the Social Services sector, which will get P2.183 trillion or 37.9 percent of the proposed 2024 National Expenditure Program, Pangandaman said.
She said the spending priorities in the national budget are the starting point of the administration’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda which aims to help address inflation by protecting the purchasing power of families and consumers and to mitigate the socioeconomic scarring brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has expressed hope that the Senate will prioritize the passage of a bill strengthening the government’s national health program for senior citizens through a comprehensive nutrition and wellness program.
The chamber approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB) 8461 which seeks to amend the Senior Citizens Act, as earlier amended, with a vote of 266 to none.
“This bill is a testament to the commitment of the House of Representatives to support legislation that will improve the lives of
the Filipino people, especially our elderly and senior citizens who truly deserve recognition and protection for their years of service to
the nation,” Speaker Martin Romualdez said.
“House Bill 8461 particularly mandates the National Nutrition Council, Department of Health, and local government units (LGUs) to prepare a
comprehensive nutrition and wellness program to serve as a guide for senior citizens to nutritionally balanced meals that can prevent
conditions related to poor nutrition,” Romualdez added.
The proposed legislation also requires the LGUs, through the Office for the Senior Citizens Affairs, to integrate the comprehensive
nutrition and wellness program in their respective programs for senior citizens.
