The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has achieved a 90.88 percent accomplishment rate for its Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) program first-quarter target after serving 3,375,834 indigent senior citizens as of June 1.

“This high accomplishment rate is a direct result of the directive from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure that our vulnerable sectors receive their much-needed financial aid on time,” Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao, the DSWD spokesperson, said on Wednesday (June 3).

Each indigent senior citizen receives Php1,000 social pension per month or an equivalent of Php3,000 per quarter.

According to the DSWD spokesperson, the Department is currently working to immediately disburse the social pension for the remaining 338,881 elderly citizens.

“Since our indigent senior citizens do not receive any other pension, wala silang SSS (Social Security System), wala silang GSIS (Government Service Insurance System), and so the Department clearly sees their genuine happiness every time they receive itong kanilang social pension,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao pointed out.

The DSWD’s SPISC program provides monthly financial assistance to qualified elderly Filipinos to help augment their daily medical and subsistence costs.

To ensure that only qualified beneficiaries are included in the program, the Department uses data from the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to prioritize assistance in areas with high poverty rates as mandated by Republic Act No. 11315 or the Community-Based Monitoring System Act.

“The DSWD will not stop improving the delivery of assistance to our fellow Filipinos, especially our indigent senior citizens, because this is a big help for their daily needs,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao said.

Under the SPISC program guidelines, an indigent senior citizen is defined as an individual aged 60 or older who is vulnerable or living with a disability. Eligible beneficiaries must also have no regular income or financial backing from relatives, and should not be receiving any pension from SSS, GSIS, Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), and other government agencies. (KI)