Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has expressed his full support to the enactment of House Bill 10423 or the Universal Social Pension Bill.
“We are fully supportive of it and it will certainly make our lives so much simpler. We are fully supportive and we understand that concept to make more people productive in a sense,” Gatchalian told legislators during the deliberation of the agency’s 2025 proposed budget when asked by Marikina District Rep. Stella Quimbo on the DSWD’s stand on the bill.
HB 10423 or the Universal Social Pension bill seeks to make the government’s free social pension available to all senior citizens.
Quimbo cited that senior citizens often provide childcare to younger members of the family and give way for the productivity of other household-members in exchange.
The DSWD chief agreed with Rep. Quimbo’s point that amending the exclusivity of social pension to indigent beneficiaries is likely to encourage a competitive working force.
“It’s a whole cycle of going back to the economy anyway. We agree with it, madam chair. If we put it this way, it’s an investment towards making our people more productive, our able-bodied or younger set of people be productive part of the workforce,” Gatchalian pointed out.
The DSWD chief earlier responded to United Senior Citizens Partylist Rep. Milagros Magsaysay about the cases of late pension payouts, citing liquidation problems of partner-local government units(LGUs) as a common cause of delay.
