In Valenzuela City, no one gets left behind — especially not its senior citizens.

To show that the City is one with the government in championing social protection for the elderly during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, a total of 3,209 Valenzuelano senior citizens from District 1 received their Social Pension (SocPen) on the first day of the payout this May 25, 2020.

Senior citizens not left out

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has led the three-day distribution of the senior citizens’ stipend for the first half of 2020 and their unpaid benefits from 2019 with the Valenzuela City’s Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) and the City Treasurer’s Office.

As mandated by Republic Act (R.A.) 9994 or the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010” and under the government’s Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) Program, an indigent senior citizen is entitled to a monthly stipend of Php 500 or a total of Php 3,000 for the period of six months.

This amount is intended to augment a senior citizen’s budget for daily provisions and medical needs. The stipend is given on a semestral basis, either in person, via cash card, or through door-to-door delivery. The stipend for the first half of the year may be distributed any day during the months of January to June, while the pension for the next half may be handed out any day during the months of July to December.

To be considered in the program, an individual must be an indigent Philippine resident 60 years old and above who must also either be “frail, sickly or with disability, without pension (from the Social Security System or the Government Service Insurance System) or permanent source of income, compensation or financial assistance from his or her relatives to support his or her basic needs.”

This development could not have come at a better time as the current public health emergency continues to render the elderly vulnerable – both economically and physically. The granting of financial assistance to the senior citizens of Valenzuela City will surely aid them in facing and surviving this crisis.

How’s the elderly?

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected senior citizens. Since the declaration of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in mid-March and the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) on May 16, they have been barred from going outside and leaving their residences as the virus poses more health risks to their age group.

The lockdown has also halted work of the senior citizens’ grown children, causing the household savings to gradually become depleted.

Senior citizens who were already recipients of pensions from other sources or those with working children were denied emergency subsidy through the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) released sometime in April 2020.

Most of the beneficiaries of the SocPen Program expressed their gratitude to the government as they can now buy maintenance medicine and/or have their medical check-ups.

Rosauro Soriano, a 66 year-old resident from Brgy. Wawang Pulo, shares that the pension she received will be used to buy medicines and as a start-up for an investment.

“Ipambibili ko po ng gamot [iyong natanggap ko], tapos, magpapadala po ako ng pera sa [mga] anak kong na-lockdown… Wala rin ho kasi silang inaasahan kung hindi kami lang. May mga anak pa sila. Kami namang mag-asawa, mayroon lang kasamang isang apo… Iyong makukuha naming pera, ipambibili-bili rin namin ng kabuhayan. Kung may matitira'y ipagpapagawa namin ng bahay,” Ms. Soriano said.  

As of May 26, the CSWDO has been able to release the social pension of 5,952 (or 79%) beneficiaries. Only 1,630 senior citizens have yet to collect their payout.

The CSWDO will carry on with their programs such as the “Pamaskong Handog Para Kay Lolo at Lola” and the home care program for the sick elderly once the community quarantine is lifted.