Press Release
September 8, 2019

Give all pension-less senior citizens P1,000 a month: Pangilinan

MANILA -- Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan wants all Filipino senior citizens who don't receive any pension to get one worth P1,000 a month.

In Senate Bill 259, Pangilinan seeks to further amend the existing law, Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, in two ways: double the monthly pension from P500 to P1,000; and expand the program from covering only indigent seniors to include all seniors.

"Kinikilala natin ang mga contribution ng ating mga senior citizens sa pag-unlad ng bayan. Nagbigay ng ginhawa ang pinasa nating batas sa tatlong milyong mahihirap na senior pero malaki pa ring porsyento ng mga senior ang di kasama sa programa (We recognize the contribution of senior citizens in the country's progress. The law we passed gave some relief to three million indigent senior citizens but a big percentage of them are still not covered by the program)," Pangilinan said.

The senator said nine years after the last amendment to the law, P500 monthly pension is not enough anymore.

"Hindi na ito sapat para sa araw-araw na gastusin at lalo na sa pang-medical. Tumaas na ang halaga ng mga pangunahing bilihin at binaba nito ang totoong halaga ng social pension na tinatanggap nila ngayon (This is not enough for everyday expenses and especially for medical needs. The cost of prime commodities has increased and decreased the true value of the social pension they now receive)," Pangilinan said.

In the bill's explanatory note, Pangilinan cited a 2017 study which showed that the value of the current P500 monthly pension has fallen by 22% in real terms and is equivalent to only P403.

"Marami sa ating magsasaka na tumatanda na ang matutuwa sa panukalang ito (Many of our aging farmers will welcome this proposal)," he added.

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