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MANILA, Philippines — Noting that the death of a spouse can also result in financial loss to the surviving spouse, Rep. Eddie Villanueva is pushing for financial aid and counseling for indigent widowers and widows.
House Bill No. 7795, or the Widower and Widow Financial Assistance Act, is aimed at helping “alleviate the grief, pain and financial impact” of losing one’s spouse in the first few months of bereavement.”
Villanueva, chair of the House Sustainable Development Goals committee, filed the bill on March 28.
He said the surviving spouse’s grief and pain might be aggravated by a financial loss if the dead spouse was the sole breadwinner of the family.
“It would go further and suggest that every personal loss, such as the death of a loved one, is a financial loss in some fashion. Indeed, every financial loss is a personal and emotional loss,” the Cibac representative said.
Qualified indigent widowers and widows will be given financial assistance for three months.