Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao clarified on Wednesday, Aug. 21 that its social pension program is only for indigent senior citizens.
This statement was issued to address any confusion about eligibility for the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens Program (SocPen).
Recently, a video clip featuring a district representative in May has been circulating on social media, leading to confusion among senior citizens about the program’s scope.
“We would like to reiterate that the SocPen program of the DSWD is for indigent senior citizens who are frail, sickly, or with a disability, and without pension or permanent source of income, compensation, or financial assistance from his/her relatives to support his/her basic needs,” Dumlao, the agency spokesperson, said.
She explained that SocPen, established under Republic Act No. 9994, or the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, provides a monthly stipend of P500 to indigent senior citizens to augment their daily subsistence and medical needs.
Dumlao added that Republic Act No. 11916, known as the “Act Increasing the Social Pension of Senior Citizens,” which became law in July 2022, raised the monthly stipend to P1,000 starting January 2024, up from the previous P500.
The DSWD is currently implementing this law, which benefits 4,085,066 qualified indigent senior citizens.
It added that it does not yet provide “universal coverage” for all seniors in the country.
“We would like to clarify that the DSWD’s SocPen program is different from House Bill No. 10423 or the Universal Social Pension bill,” Dumlao pointed out.
House Bill No. 10423 aims to expand the coverage of the SocPen program.
The legislator in the viral video was quoted as saying, “Matic na ang pagiging kasapi sa social pension basta edad 60. May Social Security System [SSS] pension man o wala, may Government Service Insurance System [GSIS] pension man o wala, kasama na po (Automatic membership in the social pension program starts at age 60. Whether or not you have SSS pension or GSIS pension, you will be included).”
The DSWD advised the public to ignore social media content not released through its official accounts and urged them to avoid posting or resharing unverified information.
“Some posts contain information that may mislead the public, especially the vulnerable. Again, the DSWD would like to reiterate to only refer to our official social media accounts and website,” Dumlao said.