BUTUAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed social pension to 61,431 senior citizens in the Caraga region.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian (third from right) turns over financial assistance under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) to beneficiaries in Butuan City over the weekend. Gatchalian was assisted by Butuan City Mayor Ronnie Vicente C. Lagnada, Agusan del Norte Rep. Jose Aquino II, and DSWD 13 Director Mar-Flor A. Dollaga. (DSWD 13-PIO photo via Mike U. Crismundo)
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DSWD Caraga Regional Information Office chief Marko Davey Reyes said beneficiaries in the province of Surigao del Sur and some municipalities in the province of Surigao del Norte received their social pension totaling P1,500 each for the first semester or the first three months of this year.
“This social pension is a continuing program given by the government to indigent senior citizens,” Reyes said.
The DSWD disbursed P184.2 million to beneficiaries in the region or 33.36 percent of the target number this year, he added.
As payouts continue, schedules for the remaining municipalities and cities in Caraga are being coordinated through the Local Social Welfare and Development Offices (LSWDOs) for dissemination to beneficiaries, Reyes said.
Along with the scheduling is the continuing validation and revalidation of potential beneficiaries in local government units to ensure that allocated slots available for senior citizens are accurately appropriated.
Social Pension Program Management Officers (SPPMO) requested beneficiaries to stay at home and be within reach to enable them to claim their stipends and be properly identified during validation and avoid being delisted.
Reyes said the implementation of the social pension fulfills the government’s obligation to the most vulnerable sector through social protection and full implementation of Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.
The P500 monthly stipend augments indigent senior citizens’ daily subsistence and other medical needs.
Meanwhile, 3,680 poor families in the Caraga region have received financial assistance under the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian led the distribution to beneficiaries here. He was assisted by DSWD 13 Director Mari-Flor A. Dollaga.