Kalinga holds consultation-workshop on social pension

By Geraldine G. Dumallig

Thursday 19th of July 2012

TABUK CITY, Kalinga, July 19 (PIA) -- Municipal senior citizen point persons and senior citizen representatives from the different towns in the province recently attended a consultation and orientation workshop on the social pension (SocPen) for the indigent elderly to help iron out issues on program implementation.

Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer (PSWDO) Digna Dalutag said that since the SocPen for the indigent senior citizens started in 2011, several issues have cropped up concerning the list of beneficiaries generated by the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) such as non-inclusion of qualified beneficiaries and need for updating to de-list deceased beneficiaries.

According to Dalutag, the consultation with DSWD regional office included the mode of distribution of pensions, which is sometimes done by the DSWD regional office and at times by the municipal social welfare office. She asked the participants to raise all their issues for the needed evaluation that would facilitate and improve the delivery of services.

Through the SocPen, identified and qualified indigent senior citizens would receive a P500 monthly financial assistance from the government as provided under Republic Act No. 9994 or the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.”

“We hope that through the recommendations as a result of this consultation-workshop would be acted upon so as not to frustrate our senior citizens in getting their monthly assistance,” she said.

SocPen is one of the measures undertaken by the government to achieve its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals to alleviate poverty incidence by 16.6 percent in the country.

With RA 9994, the government aims to help the senior citizens sector cope with their situation by augmenting their daily subsistence and other medical needs. Beneficiaries are the frail, sick, disabled, not receiving monthly pension from the GSIS, SSS, Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), Armed Forces of the Philippines Savings and Loan Association, Inc. (AFPSLAI), and other private insurance companies and those who do not have permanent source of income or regular support from their families or relatives.

Among the topics discussed during the event are the guidelines on the implementation of SocPen, its operational procedures, replacements for beneficiaries, liquidation documents, and other reporting processes to effectively implement the program. Also discussed are the status, issues and concerns regarding the implementation of the SocPen as basis of the workshop activity.

Said activity was conducted through the provincial government of Kalinga in partnership with DSWD-CAR. (JDP/GGD-PIA CAR, Kalinga)