With the country set to celebrate the annual Elderly Filipino Week in the first week of October, Camarines Sur District II representative Luis Raymund ‘LRay’ Villafuerte is pushing for a universal pension scheme that would provide pensions to all of the country’s elderly and not just those classified as indigents.

In a statement, Villafuerte has appealed to the Upper House to approve before the end of the 19th Congress the measure that aims to grant social pensions to all senior citizens across the archipelago.

“I am appealing to our senators to pass this proposed universal monthly pension, equivalent to an initial P500 and then bumped up to at least ₱1,000 per beneficiary within five years after this program’s full implementation, as such financial aid will help all elderly Filipinos, and not just our indigent senior citizens, cope with the ever-rising cost of essential food items, utilities and medicines,” the Bicolano solon enthused.

Villafuerte is a co-author of House Bill (HB) 10423 which was approved last May by the Lower House and a Senate version is now on deliberation in the Upper House.

HB 10423 will further amend Republic Act 7432, or an Act to Maximize the Contribution of Senior Citizens to Nation Building, Grant Benefits and Special Privileged and for Other Purposes, which entitled indigent senior citizens to a monthly stipend.

Under the new House bill, senior citizens “who are previously not considered as indigents shall be entitled to a monthly stipend of ₱500.”

“The Universal Social Pension is a tax-financed program that guarantees a standard minimum income in old age. Unlike the current Social Pension Program, it is given not only to indigents, but to all Senior Citizens or at least to those without any pension,” Villafuerte explained.

Furthermore, the bill likewise transfers the management of the social pension to the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) within three years from the time the measure takes effect.

“The DSWD will review and, if necessary, adjust the amount of universal social pensions every two years, taking into account the various needs of senior citizens and relevant economic indicators, as reported and published by pertinent government agencies and authorities,” Villafuerte clarified.