Senior citizens, who are beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas’ social pension, receive their P3,000 pension covering the months of January to June this year. | Photo courtesy of DSWD-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The nearly 280,000 senior citizens in Central Visayas, who are social pensioners of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7), will all receive their P3,000 ‘semestral pension’ in May.
Fharlyn Logroño, project development officer II of DSWD-7, said that they were aiming for May to complete the distribution of the P3,000 semestral pension or P500 each month, covering the months of January to June.
According to the DSWD-7, Central Visayas has 279,037 social pensioners, with 117,330 from Cebu Province; 96,394 from Bohol; 54,760 from Negros Oriental; and 10,553 from Siquijor.
“Katong mga luya, masakiton, ug may kapansanan, sila gyud ang target nato, ug kadtong mga indigent,” Logroño said.
(Those who are weak, sickly or with disabilities, they are our targets and those who are indigent.)
Among the local government units (LGUs) that have already started their distribution are: Toledo City, Bantayan, Madredijos, Sta. Fe, and Alegria in Cebu Province; Catigbian, Dauis, Getafe, Anda, Guindulman, and Valencia in Bohol; and Tanjay in Negros Oriental.
Due to the pandemic, Logroño said that they also scheduled the time of distribution per sitio in each barangay to avoid mass gathering, while the observance of the minimum health protocols, such as wearing of a face mask and face shield and practicing social distancing, was also being implemented.
Those senior citizens, who are 65-years old and above, are also encouraged by the agency to only send a representative upon claiming their social pensions, in compliance with the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), which mandates them to stay-at-home at all times.
A representative, who wishes to claim the social pension of a senior citizen, will only need to present an authorization letter, Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA) ID of the beneficiary, and a valid ID of the authorized representative.
Majen Codera, project development officer I of DSWD-7, also said that not all senior citizens could benefit from the said program.
“Moagi ni sila sa validation process, subay sa mga sumbanan or criteria,” Codera said.
(This would undergo a validation process following the guidelines or criteria.)
Codera said eligible social pensioners would only be those who were not receiving any pension from the government or private institutions, such as Social Security System (SSS) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS); those who are not receiving any support from their family members or relatives; and those who were considered indigent.
Aside from this, each LGU was only given limited slots for senior citizens who can enroll in the program.
/dbs
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