Law doubles pension of poor seniors, government grants most vulnerable P4 billion aid
As prices of basic goods continue to increase, the government will release P4.1 billion in “ayuda” to help some 4 million poor Filipinos and will double the social pension of indigent senior citizens from P500 to P1,000.
The Department of Budget and Management on Tuesday said it approved the release of P4.1 billion to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“This is good news, especially for the most vulnerable households, who will be the beneficiaries of the second tranche of the TCT (Targeted Cash Transfer) Program,” said Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.
“We want them to know and feel that their government is here for them. We are ready to help them,” Pangandaman added.
Under the program, each beneficiary not covered by the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) but identified by DSWD will receive P500 a month for two months.
The first tranche covered 4Ps beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, a bill increasing the monthly social pension of poor senior citizens from P500 to P1,000 lapsed into law, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said Tuesday.
Villanueva, sponsor of the bill in the 18th Congress, showed a copy of a letter signed by Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez, informing him that the bill lapsed into law July 30.
The law also transfers the implementation, distribution, and management of the social pension for senior citizens from the DSWD to the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) within a period not exceeding three years.
The Senate passed the bill on third and final reading in May. The House then adopted the Senate version of the bill.
Senators Grace Poe and Juan Edgardo Angara described the bill’s passage as timely.
Villanueva said the new law would benefit about 4 million poor senior citizens.
The Palace on Tuesday said the government would use existing funds from the 2022 national budget for its cash grant assistance under the TCT program.
Also on Tuesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government is also hoping to include election workers, mostly public school teachers, in its targeted cash transfer (TCT) program.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the Palace sould leave it to the DSWD to make announcements in relation to the TCT program.
She assured the public, however, that there were enough funds to grant qualified beneficiaries cash aid.
The TCT was initiated by former President Rodrigo Duterte to facilitate the distribution of cash grants amounting to P3,000 or P500 per month for six months.
Duterte issued the directive in May, but the funds for the program were released under the Marcos administration.
The DSWD said the list of target beneficiaries is composed of 4 million households under the 4Ps; 6 million non-4Ps households and individuals who previously benefited from the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law.
The DSWD earlier said it aims to cover 12.4 million Filipino beneficiaries under the TCT program.
Last month, the DSWD said there is a shortage in funds for the remaining tranches of the P500 monthly cash aid.