ILOILO City – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has disbursed a total of P4,590,546,000 in social pension funds to senior citizens in Region 6 from January 1 to November 28, 2024.
This figure represents 99.12 percent of its target fund for the year, according to Marien Grace Tamonan, social welfare officer of DSWD-6’s Social Pension Program.
The target allocation for 2024 is P4,631,448,000 intended for 385,954 beneficiaries across the region.
The Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) Program, established under Republic Act 9994 (Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010) and further expanded under Republic Act 11916, provides additional government assistance to indigent seniors to help cover daily expenses and medical needs.
Qualified beneficiaries include senior citizens aged 60 and above who are frail, sickly, or disabled, with no regular income or family support, and without pensions from private or government institutions.
Here is the breakdown of target beneficiaries and disbursed funds per province in Western Visayas:
* Aklan – 46,148 beneficiaries; P553,707,000 disbursed (99.99%)
* Antique – 41,972 beneficiaries; P495,876,000 disbursed (98.45%)
* Capiz – 56,265 beneficiaries; P675,180,000 disbursed (100%)
* Guimaras – 14,767 beneficiaries; P174,804,000 disbursed (98.65%)
* Iloilo City – 13,676 beneficiaries; P164,112,000 disbursed (100%)
* Iloilo Province – 152,748 beneficiaries; P1,807,431,000 disbursed (98.61%)
* Bacolod City – 5,975 beneficiaries; P71,700,000 disbursed (100%)
* Negros Occidental – 54,403 beneficiaries; P647,736,000 disbursed (99.22%)
Tamonan reported that the fourth-quarter release of stipends is ongoing, with 13,634 unpaid beneficiaries still being processed.
Simultaneously, the department is conducting validation for potential beneficiaries and re-validation for active social pensioners.
Starting January 2024, the stipend for each qualified senior citizen increased from P500 to P1,000 per month./PN
