Deputy Majority Leader and Quezon City Fifth District Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas on Monday filed a bill to extend protection to indigent widows, especially those who are elderly.
House Bill 5395, titled “Widowed Persons Assistance Act,” seeks to provide financial assistance, psychosocial counseling, livelihood support, and priority access to social services for indigent widowed Filipinos- many of whom are senior citizens struggling to rebuild their lives after losing their spouses.
Vargas was prompted to file the bill to reaffirm his commitment to championing the welfare of elderly Filipinos, especially the widows.
“The proposed ‘Widowed Persons Assistance Act’ seeks to close these gaps by institutionalizing a comprehensive support framework that will provide temporary financial assistance, psychosocial counseling and peer support groups, livelihood and capacity-building support, and priority access to social services,” Vargas said in the explanatory note of the bill filed on Oct. 9.
The Quezon City solon said that widowed persons comprised 4.5 percent of the total household population, citing Philippine Statistics Authority data.
Of the widowed population, women account for approximately 76 percent, or about 2.9 million female widows compared to the 931,000 male widowers.
“Ang mga nabalo ay isang espesyal na sektor ng ating mga senior citizen na kailangang kilalanin at alagaan,” he said.
“Hindi natin sila hahayaang magluksa nang mag-isa, bagkus ay ihahanda natin sila sa hamon ng pagkawala ng kanilang katuwang sa buhay,” Vargas added.
Vargas noted that while the bill covers all widowed persons regardless of age, its provisions are expected to benefit the elderly the most, given their limited capacity to seek new employment and livelihood opportunities.
The legislator emphasized that the measure complements existing laws such as the Expanded Senior Citizens Act and the Universal Health Care Act by ensuring that the specific needs of widowed persons are not overlooked.
