(MANILA BULLETIN)

Over four million indigent Filipino senior citizens who are now getting the law-mandated monthly pension of P1,000 are set to enjoy this benefit in 2025 thanks to the P49.8-billion outlay for this social protection program under the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget next year. 

Thus, said Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte even as the House of Representatives continued its deliberations on the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB)--the biggest in the country's history. 

On top of this, another P3 billion has been included in next year’s proposed General Appropriations Act (GAA) so the government can also give out, as provided by another law, the cash gift of P100,000 each to all Filipinos who become centenarians or reach the age of 100; and P10,000 apiece for the elderly who turn 80, 85, 90 or 95 years of age. 

Villafuerte co-authored the two laws for the increased pension and cash gifts for seniors, which had been designated as Republic Act (RA) Nos. 11916 and 11982, respectively. 

“With adequate funding support for the P1,000 monthly pension of elderly Filipinos who are indigent seniors plus the cash gifts for our octogenarians, nonagenarians and centenarians included in the 2025 NEP (National Expenditure Program) next year’s GAB (GAA bill), I am appealing on our LGU (local government unit) executives to assist the NCSC (National Commission of Senior Citizens), DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) and PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) in completing soon enough the national database of senior citizens," the veteran solon said. 

“An accurate cataloguing of Filipino citizens who are 60 years and above is crucial for the full implementation of RA 11916 and RA 11982,  in step with President Marcos’ Bagong Pilipinas vision of leaving no Filipino behind in his government’s quest for sustained  high and inclusive growth,” noted Villafuerte. 

He recalled that when the Japan-based Rating and Investment Information Inc.  (R&I) upgraded the Philippines’ investment-grade rating to “A-“ in mid-August in light of its strong economic performance, the President assured the Filipino people that his government "will keep giving our best to make sure that every Filipino benefits from economic growth until we break the cycle of poverty". 

“I am appealing anew to our LGU executives to go the extra mile in giving a hand to the NCSC, DSWD, DICT and PSA in putting up the Elderly Data Management System or list of elderly Filipinos entitled to the cash bonanza, along with the national database of all senior citizens for the purpose of, among others, determining who among them are actually qualified to receive the monthly allowance for indigent seniors that has been increased beginning this year from P500 to P1,000," Villafuerte said. 

The House of Representatives is expected to pass the 2025 GAB on third and final reading before the end of September.