SEN. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara has called on the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to address the reported 466,000 backlogs in the settlement of pensions for indigent senior citizens.
Angara, one of the authors of Republic Act (RA) 11916, which doubled the social pension for indigent senior citizens from P6,000 to P12,000 a year, urged the DSWD on Monday to resolve the issues that have delayed the distribution of the social pension for the elderly.
During the interpellations on the proposed budget of the DSWD, it was revealed that the backlog in the distribution of the social pension had reached P5 billion based on estimates. Over the past three years, the average budget for the social pension of senior citizens has been at P25 billion.
“This cash aid is very important to the elderly who have nothing to rely on for their daily needs,” Angara emphasized in a statement. “We are inquiring into the causes of these delays and appealing to the DSWD to resolve this at the soonest possible time.”
Under the proposed 2024 budget of the DSWD, close to P50 billion is allocated for the P1,000-a-month social pension of over 4 million indigent senior citizens.
Before the enactment of RA 11916, indigent senior citizens were receiving P500 a month to help them with their expenses, including food and medicine. Indigent seniors, according to Angara, are among the “most vulnerable sectors of society because they have no regular income, no relatives to take care of them, and are not part of any social pension system.”
Administered by the DSWD, the Social Pension for Indigent Seniors Program will benefit elderly Filipinos who have no regular income or support from family and who are not receiving any pension.
Sen. Angara has also authored RA 9994, or the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act,” which grants additional benefits and privileges to seniors on top of what is already being provided under the original Senior Citizen’s Act or RA 7432.
The original law, authored by Angara’s father, the late Senate President Edgardo Angara, paved the way for the grant of a 20 percent discount on goods and services to seniors. Over a decade later, RA 9994 was enacted, providing seniors with an exemption from the value-added tax on the sale of certain goods and services on top of the 20 percent discount.
Angara emphasized the importance of honoring the legally mandated discounts and privileges for seniors. He mentioned reports of some establishments failing to provide these benefits and privileges to seniors, citing a recent incident involving a senior citizen who filed a complaint against a hotel for allegedly refusing to grant her the 20-percent discount and exemption from the VAT for her stay at the establishment.
The hotel claimed that the senior guest was already provided with a promotional rate, thus she could no longer avail of any additional discounts. However, when the guest asked for proof that the promotion was approved by the Department of Trade and Industry as required by the Consumer Act of the Philippines, the establishment failed to provide it. As a result, the guest decided to file a complaint against the establishment.
“These benefits and privileges are being provided to senior citizens and persons with disabilities to provide them with some financial relief when availing goods and services for their consumption,” Angara explained. “Their circumstances, more often than not, are significantly different from the rest of society, and so we in Congress saw it fit to provide them with such benefits.”
Sen. Angara appeals to partners in the private sector to honor all valid transactions of seniors and for the concerned agencies to address the backlogs in the distribution of social pensions for indigent senior citizens. These measures are crucial in ensuring the well-being and financial security of the most vulnerable members of society.
Source: The Manila Times
