Councilor Celia Matea Flor, Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Senior Citizens and Veteran Affairs chairperson, has filed a resolution requesting an increase in the number of beneficiaries and budget allocation for social pension for the senior citizens of Bacolod City.
As of April 2022, only 2,713 of the 40,000 estimated senior citizens of Bacolod City have benefitted from the social pension program of the national government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, she said.
Other highly urbanized cities such as Iloilo City receive pensions for 13,000 senior citizens, while more than 60,000 of Davao City’s senior citizens benefit from it, she added.
“We have to push for more of our seniors to benefit from the National fund so we can help and cover more senior citizens when we pass our local social pension fund. We hope that the DSWD through Sec. Erwin Tulfo would increase the number of our beneficiaries,” shed daid,
Flor said there is an ongoing validation of the senior citizens’ database in every barangay that will be the basis of a local ordinance on Social Pension that she will file.
She is also calling for the support of Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya, Abang Lingkod Partylist Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, and all members of the Philippine Congress in increasing the budget allocation for the social pension beneficiaries for 2023.*