MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker is calling for the immediate release of the P1,000 increase in the monthly pension of retired members of the Social Security System (SSS).
Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said that senior citizens are more vulnerable to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) than the younger population.
“They are more vulnerable to infection. Most of them have maintenance medicines that they buy with their small monthly pension,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
“They have to be helped, especially SSS pensioners who are getting less than P16,000 a month. They need the additional P1,000 increase,” he added.
The lawmaker made the appeal after senior citizen-retirees in Cagayan de Oro City called for the release of the pension increase.
In a letter endorsed by Rodriguez to the Palace, the retirees said the P1,000 is the second installment of the P2,000 pension increase the SSS granted its pensioners in 2017.
The retirees said that it was promised to be given to them in 2019, but it was deferred to 2020 because the SSS was still raising funds.
“But until now, we have not received it yet, and we need it badly for our medicines. We are humbly appealing to Your Excellency to help us with our predicament,” the retirees said.
In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte approved an initial P1,000 additional monthly pension benefit, with a second tranche of another P1,000 to be granted to pensioners beginning 2019.
But after the approval of higher pension benefits for retirees, the net income of SSS in 2017 slid 37 percent to P20.3 billion.
READ: SSS seeks to delay 2nd round of pension hike to 2020
Meanwhile, Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles has clarified that pensioners and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries are eligible to receive the government’s emergency cash subsidy.
READ: Pensioners, 4Ps beneficiaries covered by govt cash aid, IATF clarifies