Ejercito wants to double social pension for indigent seniors to P2,000

MANILA, Philippines – Senator JV Ejercito has submitted a proposed measure seeking to double the current monthly social stipend for indigent senior citizens from P1,000 to P2,000, providing greater financial relief for elderly Filipinos amid rising costs.

Ejercito’s Senate Bill No. 2522 aims to amend Republic Act No. 11916, which sets the monthly social pension to P1,000, to address the escalating costs of food, maintenance medicines, healthcare, and basic utilities.   

“With the continuing rise in the prices of food, medicines, utilities, transportation, and health care, P1,000 a month is simply no longer sufficient to significantly support the daily needs of an elderly Filipino,” Ejercito said.

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“For many retirees, a modest monthly pension is quickly consumed by maintenance medicines, medical consultations, food, rent, electricity, transportation, and other necessities. The small statutory pension they receive every month is far from financial security we envisioned for our seniors,” he added.

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With the number of senior citizens growing–based on the Philippine Statistics Authority 2024 Census of Population, approximately one in every ten persons is a senior citizen–Ejercito insisted that the government must also ensure that social protection system keeps pace with the changing needs of our elderly.   

“Our senior citizens have spent the productive part of their lives working, raising families, building communities, and contributing to our nation. Many of them cared for us when we were young and still finding our way through life. In their later years, it is only right that society, in turn, ensures that they are able to live with dignity and security,” he said.

Under SB 2522, the definition of an indigent senior citizen would be expanded to include elderly Filipinos who have no pension or permanent source of income, as well as those who receive a pension, compensation, or financial assistance not exceeding P10,000 per month, subject to determination by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The bill would also remove the existing requirement that an indigent senior citizen be “frail, sickly or with disability” to qualify for the social pension.

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It likewise mandates the DSWD, subject to the approval of the Department of Budget and Management and in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to review and, when necessary, adjust the social pension every two years.

The proposed adjustments would take into account the consumer price index, poverty threshold, cost of living, and other relevant economic indicators reported by government agencies.

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“Social pension is not charity. Ultimately, this measure is about how we value those who came before us.   Our senior citizens should be able to spend the remaining years of their lives with dignity, not in constant worry about their next meal, their medicines, or their most basic needs,” Ejercito said.