DEPARTMENT of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to release the social pension of indigent senior citizens every three months, instead of the current six-month schedule, starting next year.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who inquired about the release of the social pension, earlier urged the DSWD to release the monthly social pension of senior citizens every three months.

Under Rodriguez’s proposal, senior citizens should receive their P500 monthly pension every three months for a total of P1,500. Currently, indigent senior citizens receive P3,000 every six months.

In August, the House also approved a measure seeking to increase the social pension of indigent senior citizens to P1,000 per month.

The new pay-out schedule is contained in the DSWD Memorandum Circular No. 16 which indicates that pensioners will receive the P500-monthly pension every quarter.

The DSWD action is based on House Resolution No. 1047 authored by House deputy speaker Rufus Rodriguez and his representations during budget deliberations of the DSWD 2022 budget.

Rodriguez said that indigent senior citizens need financial assistance for their food and maintenance medicines, most especially at this time of COVID-19 pandemic.

How can seniors pay for food, check-ups, medicines, vitamins, and other necessities if their pension is paid every six months? According to Rodriguez.

“I laud the DSWD under the leadership of Secretary Rolando Bautista for finally heeding my request to release the pension every quarter rather than the current bi-annual setup,” Rodriguez said.

The DSWD said in a statement that social pension recipients who are affected by the quarantine restrictions can send their authorized representatives to claim the stipend.

The authorized representative shall present the original and photocopy of the representative’s valid identification (ID); pensioner’s valid ID; authorization letter, indicating the representative’s legal name; and certification from the village that it is on lockdown.

The bill was approved by the House in August and is currently pending in the Senate for another round of deliberations. (Ben Balce)