IN light of the recent legislation expanding cash gifts to individuals turning 80, 85, 90, and 95, a senior lawmaker on Thursday called upon local government executives to collaborate with the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) and other concerned agencies to swiftly complete the national database of elderly Filipinos entitled to the financial incentives.
Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte emphasized the importance of accurately cataloging Filipino citizens aged 60 and above.
He stressed that this comprehensive database is vital following the enactment of Republic Act No. 11982, granting a P10,000 cash reward to Filipinos at the ages of 80, 85, 90, and 95. Additionally, he highlighted RA 11916, an amendatory law increasing the Social Pension of Indigent Senior Citizens to P1,000.
RA 11982, also known as the “Act granting Benefits to Filipino Octogenarians and Nonagenarians,” amended RA 10868, or the “Centenarians Act” of 2016, by providing a P10,000 cash gift to seniors aged 80 and every five years thereafter until they turn 95.
RA 10868 provided for a P100,000 gift for seniors when they reach 100 years of age, along with a felicitation letter from the President.
Villafuerte explained that RA 11982 tasks the NCSC, in coordination with LGUs, the Departments of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), to undertake an online registration of intended beneficiaries for the Elderly Data Management System.
He urged LGU executives to assist in signing up all individuals aged 60 and above in their respective localities. This collaborative effort aims to ensure a comprehensive and accurate database of seniors entitled to cash rewards and those qualified for the indigents’ pension, raised to P1,000 per month.
Villafuerte expressed support for tapping unprogrammed funds or savings by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to provide the P10,000 cash gifts to qualified seniors promptly. The DBM’s release of the higher monthly pension for indigent elderly Filipinos in January 2024 was made possible by the 100 percent increase in the senior citizens’ pension fund from P25 billion to P49.8 billion in the 2024 General Appropriations Act.
“Seldom do Filipinos reach the age of 100, so what better way for the national government and Congress to show our country’s appreciation for the significant contributions of our grandparents and other seniors to society during their relatively more productive years than to give them a cash windfall not only when they become centenarians but even when they turn 80, 85, 90, and 95 years old,” Villafuerte said.
RA 11982 states that extra funding for the cash rewards for octogenarians and nonagenarians shall come from the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).
NCSC Chairman Franklin Quijano sought the assistance of LGUs and senior citizens’ organizations in updating and completing the accurate database covering about 12.3 million Filipinos aged 60 and above, including their health profiles.
Villafuerte emphasized that a reliable database will aid the NCSC, with LGU officials’ help, in identifying all senior citizens, locating them, and ensuring they can avail themselves of the benefits due to the elderly.
The NCSC’s current database, culled from files of the PSA and Commission on Population and Development (Popcom), reportedly lacks complete information on the country’s senior citizens.
Meanwhile, the NCSC on Monday proposed the creation of a centralized database system in place of the senior citizen’s purchase slip booklet for claiming discounts.
In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing, Quijano said the booklets rarely serve their purpose as some senior citizens often forget to bring them when making purchases, preventing them from receiving discounts.
Quijano said instead of the physical booklets, a centralized database should be established to digitally record transactions regarding the senior citizens’ availment of not just medicines, but also basic necessities and prime commodities.
He said this would entail data sharing between merchants and the government.
“The substitute for the recording system is the mandate of the President that all government transactions should be digitalized and that means all the offices of government should work together, so that we will be able to set up a centralized database system,” Quijano said.
He also cited the impacts of paper on the environment as another reason to avoid using purchase slip booklets.
“If there are 12 million senior citizens, can you imagine how many trees will be cut? Paper comes from wood. So that is a practical reason I see to replace the booklets,” he said.
Quijano, however, stressed the need for Congress to amend Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 to replace the booklets with a digitalized database.
“I hope that our Congress will also help us prepare. Of course, we are studying this and we are foreseeing that with the help of DICT, a centralized database will be made to address the issue,” he said.
As this developed, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has directed the agency’s Program Management Bureau (PMB) to make a study and recommendation regarding the senior citizen purchase slip booklet.
DSWD-PMB’s position paper dated February 1, 2024 recommended to Gatchalian the abolition of the purchase slip booklet as a requirement for the purchase of medicines by senior citizens.
The DSWD-PMB recommended the adoption of digitized records for the senior citizens, “considering the mobility and tendency to forget to bring their booklets and even read their content, it is no longer convenient on the part of senior citizens to use purchase slip booklets.”
“With the fast-paced technology and innovations, it is recommended to adopt an established system for monitoring, storing, and reporting data towards an efficient, consistent, and uniform implementation of the law and provisions for the availment of medicines, basic necessities, and prime commodities, among others,” the PMB said in its position paper.
Filane Mikee Cervantes of PNA contributed to this report