A total of 60,938 indigent senior citizens in the CALABARZON Region are being provided with monthly pension by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under its Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens program.

Beneficiaries of the said program receive PhP500.00 monthly stipend to help improve their living condition, specifically in meeting their daily subsistence and medical needs.

In the region, a total of PhP182.81 Million has been provided to the said number of senior citizens from January to June 2015.

Angelita Manalo, 86, a beneficiary of the Social Pension program from Brgy. 8 in Talisay, Batangas Province, shared that the monthly allowance being provided to them by the program is a big help for senior citizens like her especially in ensuring that they can buy medicines and other supplies at home.

“Isang napakalaking biyaya ito para sa amin dahil nakakatulong ito sa aming mga pangangailangan. Nakakatuwa ring isipin na kahit kami ay may edad na, iniintindi pa rin kami ng ating gobyerno,” Manalo shared.

In the region, beneficiaries of the said program include 17,261 from Quezon, 21,428 from Batangas, 9,388 from Cavite, 7,565 from Laguna and 5,296 from Rizal.

The Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens is based on the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 that provides entitlement to a monthly pension to indigent senior citizens age 65 years old and above and are frail, sickly or with disability. Qualified beneficiaries are also those not receiving any pension and those who have no permanent source of income or regular support from relatives.#