DSWD already distributing advanced 6-month pension for indigent senior citizens —spokesperson

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has already started distributing the advanced six month's worth of social pension for indigent senior citizens for this year that could help them sustain their needs amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

"For the 2020 na social pension ng ating mga senior citizen, nakapagpahatid na ang ating iba't ibang regional field offices," DSWD spokesperson Director Irene Dumlao said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

"Nakapag-umpisa nang mag-transfer ng funds ang ating mga field offices sa mga local government units upang maipamahagi na ang social pension for indigent senior citizens," she added.

In fact, Dumlao said, the DSWD has already transferred to 140,000 indigent senior citizens the P3,000 pension they each can get covering six months.

She added that seniors need not to go out to claim their grants as these will be delivered straight to their homes.

It was Senior Citizens party-list Representative Francisco Datol Jr. who announced that indigent senior citizens would be getting their pension for six months this year in advance, along with the delayed grants for some elderlies from last year.

The said funds were delayed as the DSWD revalidated its list of senior citizens following orders from President Rodrigo Duterte.

"Noong 2019, nagkaroon tayo ng revalidation kung saan binalikan natin 'yung listahan ng mga social pension for indigent senior citizens at inalam natin kung sila ay kwalipikado at sila ay walang mga tinatanggap na pension mula sa ibang government or non-government insurance companies," Dumlao said.

Dumlao added that more than 3.7 million senior citizens have been placed on their clean list as of February 28.

Out of this figure, 2.9 million senior citizens have already received their pension from 2019, she added.

"Merong mga beneficiaries na one year 'yung tinanggap nila, that is equivalent to P6,000, at may mga beneficiaries na second semester of 2019 naman ang natanggap, that is equivalent to P3,000," she said.

Datol, in his earlier message, urged senior citizens to stay in their homes and wait for the assistance to be given to them.

"Marami pang biyaya ang tatanggapin niyo dahil alam ng ating Pangulo, ng ating pamahalaan, ng mga departamento ng gobyerno na ang sektor natin ay the most vulnerable sector ng ating lipunan," he said. —Erwin Colcol/KG, GMA News