ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider No backlog in distribution of social pension for elderly — DSWD spox

No backlog in distribution of social pension for elderly — DSWD spox

Published Nov 28, 2023 08:25 am

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez said on Tuesday, Nov. 28 that there are no backlogs in the distribution of the P500 monthly social pension for indigent senior citizens.

Based on the DSWD data, there are 4.1 million indigent senior citizens across the country.

However, Lopez said there are 466,000 indigent senior citizens on the waitlist, as these would-be beneficiaries require additional funding before being included in the social pension program.

“Baka po kasi nami-mix up natin na ang backlog ay may kinalaman una sa late na payout namin, hindi po. Up to now, ang atin pong payout when it comes to senior citizens ay on time. Wala po tayong backlogs when it comes to payment (Perhaps, there might be a mix-up regarding the backlog, as it is not related to any delays in our payouts. Up to now, our payouts for senior citizens have been on time. We do not have any backlogs in terms of payment),” he said in an interview with DWPM Radyo 630 on Thursday.

Lopez clarified that the alleged backlog, which was raised during a budget hearing by Senator Sonny Angara, could refer to the 466,000 waitlisted senior citizens who are seeking inclusion in the social pension program but are not covered by the target beneficiaries.

Currently, the funds allocated for the social pension program for 2023 only cover at least 4.1 million senior citizens, with each receiving a monthly stipend of P500.

Lopez said only about 93,000 senior citizens are being removed from the list for various reasons, such as the beneficiary’s death.

“Iyong discrepancy between sa waitlisted and nag-eexit ay masyadong malayo, and that is the very reason kung bakit may backlog po tayo (The discrepancy between the waitlisted individuals and those exiting the program is significant, and that is the primary reason why we currently have a backlog),” he added.

Lopez also noted that the budget increase for the social pension program in 2024 will only cover an additional P500 to the current monthly stipend of indigent senior citizens in accordance with Republic Act (RA) 11916, also known as an Act Increasing the Social Pension of Indigent Senior Citizens.

RA 11916, which lapsed into law in July 2022, provides for a 100 percent increase in the monthly pension of indigent senior citizens from P500 to P1,000.

He said that if the proposed 2024 budget is approved, the P500 additional pension will be given beginning next year.

Senior citizens who meet the eligibility requirements for a social pension include those who are frail, ill, or disabled; do not have a pension from the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System, or any other pension source; and do not have a permanent source of income, compensation, or family financial support to meet their basic needs.

Related Tags

DSWD SOCIAL PENSION FOR INDIGENT SENIOR CITIZENS
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.