Pangilinan: Give pensionless senior citizens P1,000 monthly

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Francis Pangilinan wants Filipino senior citizens who are not receiving pension to get P1,000 per month.

Under Senate Bill 259, Pangilinan is proposing for the current Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 to be amended.

The proposed amendments include increasing the monthly pension from P500 to P1,000 as well as the inclusion of all senior citizens, not only indigent seniors.

“Kinikilala natin ang mga contribution ng ating mga senior citizens sa pag-unlad ng bayan. Nagbigay ng ginhawa ang pinasa nating batas sa tatlong milyong mahihirap na senior pero malaki pa ring porsyento ng mga senior ang di kasama sa programa (We recognize the contribution of senior citizens in the country’s progress. The law we passed gives some relief to three million indigent senior citizens but a big percentage of them are still not covered by the program),” Pangilinan said in a statement on Sunday.

The senator argued that the P500 monthly pension of senior citizens is no longer enough, underscoring that the last amendment of the law happened nine years ago in the year 2010.

Citing a 2017 study, Pangilinan said that the value of P500 has fallen by 22 percent, explaining further that the value of P500 has fallen to P403 in 2019.

“Hindi na ito sapat para sa araw-araw na gastusin at lalo na sa pang-medical. Tumaas na ang halaga ng mga pangunahing bilihin at binaba nito ang totoong halaga ng social pension na tinatanggap nila ngayon (This is not enough for everyday expenses and especially for medical needs. The cost of prime commodities has increased and this decreased the true value of the social pension they now receive),” Pangilinan said.

“Marami sa ating magsasaka na tumatanda na ang matutuwa sa panukalang ito (Many of our aging farmers will welcome this proposal),” he added. /je