SENIOR Citizens party-list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes has lauded Senator Juan Edgardo Angara for calling on the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to streamline the distribution of increased monthly pension for senior citizens.
Angara earlier said there are 466,000 backlogs of senior citizen social pensioners based on the DSWD data.
“Senator Angara’s call is an additional voice for the immediate distribution of the social pension for our indigent senior citizens. This additional P500 for their pension is of big help for them to buy
food and medicine,” Ordanes said.
The Department of Budget and Management approved last August the release of P49.8 billion for the social pension which will cover the P1,000-increase for senior citizens.
The doubling of the social pension for indigent senior citizens was a result of the budget deliberation in line with the Republic Act 11916 amid calls from Ordanes and other groups to increase the pension.
Ordanes earlier assured indigent senior citizens that the additional social pension would be received starting January next year after the RA 11916 lapsed into law in July last year.
Angara was among the co-authors of the RA 1191 and the principal a thor of the Republic Act 9994, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act.