R500 monthly pension for indigents, not R6 K – DSWD

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has clarified that indigent elderly-beneficiaries are only entitled to a R500 monthly pension, and not R6,000 as circulated by some social media users.

DSWD Acting Secretary Virginia Orogo appealed to the public not to share wrong information to avoid creating unnecessary confusion.

Poor elderly Filipinos receive R500 pension every month under the DSWD’s Social

Pension Program in accordance with the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 or Republic Act 9994.

Under the law, an elderly, who is 60 years old and above, is qualified to receive a P500 monthly pension if he or she is frail, sickly or with disability.

Likewise, he or she should not have any pension from other government agencies; and should not have a permanent source of income or source of financial assistance to support his or her basic daily subsistence expenses and basic medical needs.

The Department provides the cash subsidy to the social pensioners on a quarterly basis or R1,500 per quarter, totaling to R6,000 for one year.

Orogo said that DSWD is open to answer queries regarding the different programs and services of the Department.

To date, 2,906,079 indigent older persons have received their pension as of the second quarter of 2018.