Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte has appealed to local government unit (LGU) executives to support the government in its continuing effort to put up an accurate database for an estimated 12.3 million elderly Filipinos nationwide.
A former Camarines Sur governor and now president of the National Unity Party (NUP), Villafuerte pointed out to local executives that the national listing or cataloguing of our senior citizens is timely and vital at this time when some 4 million elderly Filipinos who are considered as indigent are eligible to receive higher monthly subsidies under a new law on improved social protection for this sector.
The DBM would be able to scour the 2023 GAA (General Appropriations Act) and other possible sources for enough funds to bankroll the 100%-increase in the monthly pension of indigent seniors, in the same way that the Department had managed to ferret out a sufficient outlay to finance Malacañan Palace’s extended targeted cash transfer (TCT) project for the poorest families.”
“I am appealing to our local executives to help the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) and NCSC (National Commission of Senior Citizens) establish the national database for an estimated 12.3 million seniors, given the urgency of identifying and getting an accurate number of elderly Filipinos, particularly those who are eligible to receive the higher monthly subsidy of P1,000 under RA (Republic Act) 11916,” Villafuerte said.
He issued his statement after finding out that as of June 18, the NCSC has thus far registered only 2,032,708elderly Filipinos in its national database.
Villafuerte is co-author of RA 11916 or the “Social Pension for Indigent Seniors Act,” the amendatory law that lapsed last July 30 and doubled to P1,000 from P500 the monthly social pension of more than 4 million indigent elderly Filipinos.
Villafuerte’s version of this monthly subsidy hike—House Bill (HB) 4650—was one of similar bills incorporated into the substitute bill (HB 9459) that the House had approved on third and final reading in the past Congress.
In early April, Villafuerte expressed the hope that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) could ferret out enough funds in the national budget to be able to carry out fully this year the doubling to P1,000 of the monthly social pension of the country’s estimated 4 million-plus indigent senior citizens.
“In the face of the still elevated inflation, the doubling of the P500 monthly pension of our indigent elderly Filipinos to P1,000, as provided for in a new law, will spell added financial relief for these seniors who have to contend with the endlessly spiralling cost of living,” said Villafuerte.
“RA 11916, which lapsed into law last July, need not end up being a great but unfunded program for the benefit of our indigent seniors who are in dire need of state subsidies to help them cope with incessantly soaring commodity prices and recover from the economic scarring caused by the nearly three-year pandemic,” Villafuerte said.
The former Camarines Sur governor hoped: “The DBM would be able to scour the 2023 GAA (General Appropriations Act) and other possible sources for enough funds to bankroll the 100%-increase in the monthly pension of indigent seniors, in the same way that the Department had managed to ferret out a sufficient outlay to finance Malacañan Palace’s extended targeted cash transfer (TCT) project for the poorest families.”
The Palace’s economic managers earlier announced the distribution of P9.3 billion-worth of cash assistance under this extended TCT project to 9.3 million households considered most vulnerable to the economic shock of the still elevated inflation, driven mainly by the rocketing prices of certain foodstuff and the high cost of fuel in the global market.
Moreover, the DBM has also recently approved the release of P42.93 billion to cover the one-year health insurance premiums of around 8.6 million senior citizens.
The NCSC’s current database was supposed to have been culled from files of the PSA and Commission on Population and Development (Popcom), which do not reportedly have complete information on the country’s senior citizens.
Villafuerte noted that RA 11916 directs the DSWD, and upon full transfer of its social pension functions to the NCSC, and NCSC to update and validate the list of target beneficiaries on an annual basis.
This updating and validating process shall be done, he added, with the assistance of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), through the Community-based Monitoring System that was put up for this Office under RA 11315.
NCSC chairman Franklin Quijano said at a recent Laging Handa public briefing at Malacañan Palace that his office needs to update its list of senior citizens all over the country.
Quijano had sought the help of LGUs and senior citizens’ organizations to help the NCSC complete an accurate database covering about 12.3 million Filipinos 60 years of age and above, and including their respective health profiles.
Villafuerte said such an authoritative database will go a long way in helping NCSC identify all senior citizens, locate them and ensure that they can avail of the benefits due the elderly.
The NCSC’s current database was supposed to have been culled from files of the PSA and Commission on Population and Development (Popcom), which do not reportedly have complete information on the country’s senior citizens.
Villafuerte explained that RA 11916 amended RA 7432, which provided for a universal social pension for elderly Filipinos; and RA 9994, which granted additional benefits and privileges to senior citizens.
This amendatory law transferred the functions of the DSWD pertaining to senior citizens, including the provision of social pensions and other benefits, to the OCSC, which is under the Office of the President (OP).
Elderly Filipinos eligible for the monthly stipend include those who are sick or with disability, no permanent source of income, with no regular support from their families or relatives, and without any pension from the government or private institutions.
On top of the increased monthly stipend to P1,000, RA 11916 mandates that social safety assistance be made available to senior citizens to cushion the impact of economic shocks, disasters and calamities, said Villafuerte.
Such aid shall include food, medicines and financial assistance for house repairs, with the funds to be sourced from the disaster/calamity budgets of LGUs where the affected senior citizens reside, subject to the guidelines to be issued by the NCSC, he added.
Under this new law, private enterprises that will employ senior citizens as employees, upon the effectivity of this Act, shall be entitled to an additional deduction from their gross income, equivalent to 15% of the total amount paid as salaries and wages to these elderly workers, subject to the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), as amended, Villafuerte said.
He added that the law provides, though, that for these private employers to avail of this tax break, such employment shall continue for a period of at least 6 months, and that the annual income of these senior citizens do not exceed the latest poverty threshold as published by the PSA for that year.
He said the new law provides for other release or distribution options for the pension other than a cash payout, the transaction fee of which will no longer be charged to the beneficiary-seniors.
Villafuerte said, “Legislated measures have been provided by the State to help guarantee the safety and security of our senior citizens, but, unfortunately, most of them face financial problems as they are unable to work for a living or have no monthly pension—or both. And with inflation and the ever-rising living standards, it is getting harder and harder for our senior citizens to live as comfortably as they can in their golden age, especially after the inimical impact of the pandemic.”
“Considering that financial support from pensions such as the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) have proven not enough or insufficient, the increase in their monthly pension to P1,000 will somehow lighten the financial burden of our elders,’ Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte earlier appealed for DBM funding of the higher monthly stipend for senior citizens after NCSC Chairman-CEO Franklin Quijano had dismissed a report that the NCSC was handing out the higher monthly stipend of P1,000 to all of the 12.2 million senior citizens in the country.
The NCSC said in a February statement that only the indigent 4.1 million among the 12.2 million elderly Filipinos have been receiving and will continue to receive the monthly pension, and that the stipend is still at P500 per month and not P1,000.
“The agency clarified that only select indigent senior citizens, 4.1 million out of 12.2 million, receive P500 social pension per month and will be doubled by virtue of RA 11916, as soon as it gets funding from the DBM,” said the Commission in the statement.
Quijano explained that, “While it’s true that RA 11916 mandates the 100% increase in the indigent senior citizen’s monthly pension—from P500 to P1,000—it would still have to be funded by the DBM and it could only take effect after the National Treasury (has) allocated the needed fund but as of now it is still unfunded.”
According to PSA data, there were more than 12.3 million Filipinos 60 years or older as of May 2020, or roughly 11% of the country’s estimated population of over 109 million.
