DSWD SAID SENIOR CITIZENS WILL RECEIVE P500 CASH GRANT PER MONTH PLUS ADDITIONAL P300 MONTHLY BY 2019 AND 2020-RA 9994

Department of Social Welfare and Development, Officer-in-Charge Secretary Emmanuel Leyco said, in the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 (Republic Act 9994) only indigent older persons are allowed by this social pension program. The law specifies that a senior citizens is qualified to receive P500, if he or she has no existing pensions from Social Security System (SSS) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), he or she must be frail, sickly or with disability and there is no permanent source of income.

Leyco said DSWD wants to include all senior citizens in the program, but the budget is limited. The amount appropriated for this project is only P19.28 B and it covers only for 3 million elderly. He added that the the social workers will conduct validation and assessment to determine qualified indigent elders.

On top of the P500 pension, there will be additional P200 monthly unconditional cash grant under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law. The cash grant will be given in a lump sum of P2,400 within the month of March 2018 and will increased to P300 monthly by 2019 and 2020.