Over 15K seniors to receive social pension

An indigent senior citizen gets her P6,000 emergency cash assistance from social welfare officers of the Iloilo City government during the distribution in April of the first tranche of the Social Amelioration Program monetary aid in Barangay Punong Lapuz, La Paz district. Mayor Jerry Treñas wrote President Rodrigo Duterte a letter appealing that this city be included in the second tranche of the Social Amelioration Program. IAN PAUL CORDERO/PN

ILOILO City – The social pension of 15,333 senior citizens here for the first and second quarters of this year (January-March; April-June) would finally be released Thursday and Friday next week.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) recently downloaded to the city government P52,080,000 for this, according to Mayor Jerry Treñas.

Every month, qualified senior citizens get P500 each from DSWD’s social pension program for the elderly.

Pensions in the later part of 2019 that were not released would also be released, said Treñas.

He gave the following breakdown of senior citizen- beneficiaries per district:

* Arevalo – 2,210

* City Proper – 2,738

* La Paz – 2,521

* Lapuz – 1,162

* Mandurriao – 1,580

* Molo – 2,545

* Jaro – 2,577

Because senior citizens are prohibited from leaving their houses under the prevailing general community quarantine, Treñas did not discount the possibility that the pension may be delivered door- to-door.

The City Social Welfare Development Office has been tasked to device a distribution scheme that is most convenient to the senior citizens.

The social pension for senior citizens is in line with Republic Act No. 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

The program is intended for senior citizens who are frail, sickly or with disability, and without pension or permanent source of income, compensation or financial assistance from his/her relatives to support his/her basic needs./PN

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