ILOILO CITY—Beneficiaries of the national government’s Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens here have received their benefits for the past two quarters of 2017.
Cherry Lyn S. Bermejo, Social Welfare Officer III and focal person for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, said on February 21 that 13,190 indigent senior citizens from this city are qualified for the program.
She said the distribution for the social pension of 12,419 pensioners entitled to a P3,000 pension was held from February 6 to 15.
Those with claims starting on the second quarter of last year, worth P4,500 was held last January 23. The distribution covered 771 pensioners.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) downloaded to the Iloilo City government a total of P40,726,500 for the pension of identified recipients.
However, she said they are giving those who have not claimed their pension until February 23 to claim their money.
Thereafter, they will proceed with the liquidation to process the pension for the first quarter of this year.
She said that, for now, they stick to the more or less 13,000 pensioners who are dependent on the DSWD, whether or not to increase the recipients.
Iloilo City has nearly 50,000 senior citizens. Indigent elderly who did not qualify for the national pension program were provided a P1,000 pension annually by the city government.
Annually, the city government extends some P5 million for the localized social pension under the social-welfare program of the local government here.
The qualified recipients were chosen in partnership with the federation of senior citizens affairs office.