Budget concerns raised against bills granting cash gifts to Filipinos ages 80 and 90

Budget concerns were raised on Wednesday against the bills seeking to grant cash gifts to Filipinos who are 80 and 90 years old.
 
This was disclosed during the hearing of the Senate committee on social justice, welfare, and rural development.
 
Under Republic Act 10868 or the Centenarians Act of 2016, all Filipinos who reach 100 years old will receive P100,000.
 
Senate Bill 21, authored by Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., seeks to give P10,000 to Filipinos who reach 80 years old, P10,000 upon reaching 90 years old, and P100,000 upon reaching 100 years old.
 
Introduced by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Senate Bill 74 aims to distribute the P100,000 cash gift in tranches: P20,000 upon reaching 80 years old, P30,000 upon reaching 90 years old, and P50,000 upon reaching 100 years old.
 
In his opening statement, Revilla said around P4.5 billion would have to be spent on cash gifts for Filipinos turning 80 and 90 years old.
 
However, Senator Imee Marcos, chairperson of the committee, said that the bill might turn out to be unfunded because other existing laws providing benefits to senior citizens were not properly implemented due to a limited budget.
 
"Under the old law, pa lang, kulang na yung pera natin doon sa P500. Hindi lahat ng 60 and above nabibigyan as we stand, di ba?" Marcos said.
 
(Our funds are insufficient even to support the distribution of the P500 subsidy under the old law. As things stand, not everyone who is 60 or older has benefited.)
 
She also cited Republic Act 11916, which increased the monthly social pension of indigent senior citizens from P500 to P1,000.
 
"'Yung P500 'di 'ba nagawang P1,000. ‘Yung P1,000, zero pa lang ang naibibigay. That's the problem," she said.
 
(It was raised to P1,000 from P500. The P1,000 subsidy has not been distributed. That’s the problem.)
 
For this stipend alone, Marcos said it would need P79 billion in funding.
 
"So ito na ‘yung mga requirements under the law na unserved. On top of the P79 billion, meron pa rin tayong Centenarians Act," she said.
 
(These are the requirements of the law for the unserved. On top of the P79 billion, we also have the Centenarians Act.)
 
Apart from Marcos, the Department of Finance and the Department of Budget and Management also mentioned the budgetary requirements if Congress passes this measure.
 
Finance Assistant Secretary Valery Joy Brion raised the issue of sustainability.
 
If the bill is passed into law, she said its implementation would require P2.2 to P4.4 billion, a huge jump from the 2023 allocation of P254.1 million.
 
"So we would have to look for more funds to fund the program, and at the same time, there might be displacement in some existing programs if we reallocate the budget," she said.
 
Brion also warned that the government would have to allocate more funds for social pensions for the elderly due to increased life expectancy of Filipinos.
 
She added that there are existing measures in place for the social pensions of indigent senior citizens, including discounts, tax exemptions, and mandatory PhilHealth coverage.
 
Brion raised the possibility of local government units shouldering the cost of the advanced cash gifts proposed under the bills if the national government is really constrained to fund them.
 
DBM’s Carlos Borja Jr. reiterated their position paper, which indicated that the "proposal will have a budgetary impact and will greatly affect the limited fiscal space of the government since the funds allocated for the Centenarians Act are only P254 million."
 
"In the absence of additional revenue measures, it will be very difficult for the national government to fund the requirements of the subject bills, which will have to compete with other urgent priority programs and projects of the government,” it said.
 
The DBM recommended a further study of the bills, but they will defer to the inputs of the National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Finance regarding their economic and fiscal impact. — VBL, GMA Integrated News