Elderly group bats for universal coverage of social pension

A GROUP of elderly Filipinos supporting a bill expanding the coverage of the social pension system said the government must implement a universal program that meets the needs of the country’s aging citizens without discrimination.

“We are advocating for the approval of a universal social pension program as the current system does not sustain the needs of indigent senior citizens,” Dioscoro B. Benalla, Sr., president of the Confederation of Older Persons Association of the Philippines (COPAP), told BusinessWorld in a phone interview.

Mr. Benalla said the state pension should also be inclusive, citing the explanatory of House Bill (HB) No. 10109 which states that around 54% of elderly Filipinos do not receive a pension from the government.

The proposed measure file by the Makabayan bloc lawmakers last month seeks to expand the coverage of the country’s social pension system and increase the monthly take of senior citizen beneficiaries from P1,000 to P2,000.

The proposal to increase the pension stipend to P2,000 is P500 more than the initial amount forwarded by COPAP, he said.

A salient feature of the bill is the removal of a clause that restricts social pension beneficiaries to only senior Filipinos who do not receive state pension or financial assistance from their relatives.

The current social pension is not being implemented properly due to its “discriminatory” clause, Mr. Benalla said, referring to the indigency requirement to receive the monthly state financial support.

COPAP is advocating for an inclusive and universal social pension program so that “every senior citizen will be given a monthly stipend.” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio