The fate of the proposed Universal Pension Program measure for senior citizens is now in the hands of presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos and not the entire Senate.

This was the consensus of leaders of various senior citizens groups after Senate President Francis Escudero gave assurances that he will swiftly act on the legislative proposal seeking to grant the country’s elderly folk a PHP500 monthly pension.

Escudero made the pledge after 5,000 senior citizens trooped to the Senate last Monday (January 20) to appeal to senators to act on the bill that was passed in the House of Representatives on May 21 last year.

The Senate leader said he will personally do what is necessary to have the bill approved in the legislative chamber but first it has to pass committee approval.

The bill has been languishing in the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development since it was passed by the House of Representatives on May 21, 2024.

Chaired by Marcos, the Senate panel has not conducted any hearing on the proposal, just like a similar bill filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros over two years ago when the 19th Congress opened.

Aside from Escudero, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino also assured United Senior Citizens Partylist Rep. Mila Aquino-Magsaysay that he will swiftly act on the measure if the Marcos committee would only positively act on the bill and endorse its approval in the plenary.
\
“All that’s needs is for Senator Imee’s committee to approve the social pension measure,” said Magsaysay, one of the principal authors of the measure.

Magsaysay remained hopeful Marcos will heed the appeal of the more that seven million elderly Filipinos who are not included in the Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens that grants PHP2,000 monthly pension to poor and ailing seniors.
\
However, leaders of many senior citizens organizations do not share Magsaysay’s optimism.

Former Quezon City Councilor Jorge Banal Sr., president of the Federation of Senior Citizens Associations of the Philippines-Quezon City, noted that Marcos should have called for hearings on the measure months ago if she is indeed interested in having it passed.

“Wala naman hearing ang komite kaya mahirap na tayong umasa dito,” said Banal.