The Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) is still being implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) while the National Commission on Senior Citizens (NCSC) has assumed the distribution of cash gifts to octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians, an agency official said on Thursday (April 10).
“Sa pag-dispense ng social pension, it’s still with the DSWD. Ang nasa NCSC ay yung sa octogenarians, nonagerians, centenarians. Ito yung milestones, iyong para sa mga 80,85,90, 95 at 100 years old nating mga seniors. Ito yung assumed by the NCSC starting this year,” Director Edmond Monteverde of the agency’s Protective Services Bureau (PSB) told reporters at the DSWD Thursday Media Forum held at the Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City.
Republic Act No. 11892 or the “Expanded Centenarians Act,” provide senior citizens reaching the milestone ages of 80, 85, 90, and 95 a cash gift of Php10,000 each and a felicitation letter. Upon reaching the age of 100, the senior citizen will get Php100,000 and a congratulatory letter from the President.
All these benefits are given to eligible senior citizens through the NCSC starting this 2025 as the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) already downloaded the budget directly to the Commission.
According to the PSB director, the distribution of the monthly stipend under the SPISC will eventually be turned over to the NCSC but for this year, the implementation is still led by the DSWD.
For this year, the Social Pension has a funding allocation of Php49.807 million for the Php1,000 monthly stipend of 4,085,066 indigent senior citizens or those with no source of income and support from their families.
The monthly social pension is provided to eligible seniors on a monthly, bi-monthly, and quarterly basis.
“Before ay ibinibigay ito every semester or every six months pero masyadong matagal yun. Pero since ang requirement ay monthly basis, but may mga limitations, ginawan natin ng ibang mode of payment na may monthly basis, bi-monthly, or quarterly. Tinanggal na natin ang semester, para mas mapakinabangan ng mga elderly,” Director Monteverde pointed out.
The DSWD official also stressed that the Department gives consideration to senior citizens who are sickly and physically unable to go to pay-out centers by conducting house to house or door to door delivery, especially for the bedridden or those without companion.
Other modes of accessing the monthly pension are through cash advance by a designated disbursing officer from the DSWD and fund transfer to local government units (LGUs).
“Inuuna natin yung nangangailangan, yung mga indigent senior citizens. Ang indigent senior citizen will apply or mag submit ng requirements sa Office of the Senior Citizens Affair (OSCA)), o yung samahan ng mga matatanda na nabuo sa lebel ng lokal na pamahalaan. Meron doon social pension application form and then a copy of the OSCA identification card (ID). Ine-endorse ito sa ng OSCA sa LGU, tapos ang LGU ine-endorse sa DSWD regional office para mapasama sila sa eligible. Pero bago sila mapasama, sa listahan ng mga matatanda ay mayroong validation process, pinupuntahan sila para malaman kung sila nga ay indigent,” Director Monteverde explained to reporters.
Aside from the current list of beneficiaries, the DSWD also has a list of waitlisted senior citizens which will be used in case of delisting due to natural causes or deemed ineligible after validation. (GDVF)