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Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City

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NINETEENTH CONGRESS by
First Regular Session

House Bill Nod 704

Introduced by Representatives
HORACIO P. SUANSING, JR. and MIKAELA ANGELA B. SUANSING

AN ACT
INCREASING THE MONTHLY SOCIAL PENSION OF SENIOR CITIZENS AND
EXPANDING ITS COVERAGE

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippine population is steadily aging, with more than 12 million Filipinos who
are over 60 years old.! Laws have been put in place to ensure that the welfare of our senior
citizens will be protected, such as Republic Act No. 10645, providing for mandatory PhilHealth
coverage for senior citizens, and Republic Act No. 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act
of 2010, which provides for social pension to indigent senior citizens to augment their daily
subsistence and other medical needs.

However, it should be underscored that more than half of the country’s senior citizens
still receive no pension, whether contributory or social.? The increasing health risks, limited
livelihood opportunities and rising costs of services put our senior citizens in the most
vulnerable position. This economic vulnerability was further highlighted during the height of
the COVID-19 pandemic when most of them relied on economic support from their families
or other informal sources of income. For instance, in a Rapid Needs Assessment conducted by
the Coalition of Services of the Elderly in partnership with HelpAge International last May
2020, the assessment of 120 older people revealed that 65% of them have difficulty accessing
health services, especially those with disabilities (83%), in their 60s (789%), and those aged 80+
(73%). In addition, 57% of these older people have difficulty accessing food, especially those
in their 50s (83%) and those with disabilities (61%). It further reported that 52% have difficulty
accessing medicines and there were significant challenges accessing medicines for older people
with disabilities (73%).

' Retrieved from: https://newsinfo. inquirer net/1497408/ph-senior-citizens-in-a-time-of-pandemic
2 Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE)
> Retrieved frpm: https://cose.org.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/COVID-19-RNA_COSE Philippines pdf

Sats



With rising fuel prices and inflation uptick, it is expected that these numbers will
substantially increase, adding more burden and further depleting the already scarce financial
resources of senior citizens.

This bill seeks to address these concerns by increasing the monthly social pension of
senior citizens from PhP 500.00 to PhP 1,000.00. The amount of monthly social pension of
senior citizens will then be reviewed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development
in consultation the Department of Budget and Management and other relevant
stakeholders, taking into account the various and changing needs of senior citizens and other
relevant socio-economic indicators, such as the national inflation rate, national poverty rate,

crude oil prices, among others.

Further, this bill seeks to expand the coverage of R.A. 9994 to include all senior citizens
regardless of their economic status and social security, essentially making it a universal social
pension for all senior citizens. This is in response to the clamor that regardless of one’s social
standing, old age certainly makes one inherently vulnerable and marginalized, as a result of
deteriorating physical and mental health, thereby restricting their ability to earn a living and to
take care of themselves. Likewise, while some older people currently receive pension from
other social security programs, the same is still not sufficient since the amount of pension is
dependent on the contributions made by pensioner. This holds true for pensioners who were
low-income and minimum wage earners when they retired from employment. Through this
increased social pension, all senior citizens in their twilight years will be insured of financial
‘support from the State.

In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

HORACIO Favs JR.
24 District of Sultan Kudarat



Republic of the Phil
House of Representatives
Quezon City

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

House Bill nol 704

Introduced by Representatives
HORACIO P. SUANSING, JR. and MIKAELA ANGELA B. SUANSING

AN ACT
INCREASING THE MONTHLY SOCIAL PENSION OF SENIOR CITIZENS AND
EXPANDING ITS COVERAGE

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION, 1. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 7432, as amended by Republic Act Nos. 9257
and 9994, otherwise known as the ‘Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010”, is hereby further
amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 2. Definition of Terms. — For the purposes of this Act, these terms are defined
as follows:

“XXX

[(h) indigent senior citizen refers to any elderly who is frail, sickly, or with disability,
and) without pension or permanent source of income, compensation or financial
assistance from his/her relatives to support his/ her basic needs, as determined by the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in consultation with the
National Coordinating and Monitoring Board.

“(H) SOCIAL PENSION REFERS TO THE MONTHLY STIPEND OR
MONETARY GRANT FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO AUGMENT THE
DAILY SUBSISTENCE AND OTHER MEDICAL NEEDS OF SENIOR
CITIZENS WHICH SHALL NOT BE LESS THAN ONE THOUSAND PESOS
(PHP 1,000) PER MONTH.”

SEC. 2. Section 5 of the same Act, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 5. Government Assistance. — The government shall provide the
following:

“XXX

“(h) Additional Government Assistance


“() Social Pension

“[Indigent] ALL senior citizens shall be entitled to a monthly [stipend amount
to Five hundred pesos (500.00)] SOCIAL PENSION OF AT LEAST ONE
THOUSAND PESOS (PHP 1,000.00) to augment the daily subsistence and
other medical needs of senior citizens, [subject to a review every two (2) years
by Congress, in consultation with DSWD].

“THE AMOUNT OF SOCIAL PENSION SHALL BE REVIEWED AND,
WHEN NECESSARY, ADJUSTED OR INCREASED BY THE DSWD
EVERY TWO (2) YEARS AFTER THE EFFECTIVITY OF THIS ACT,
IN CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND
MANAGEMENT (DBM) AND OTHER RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS,
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE VARIOUS NEEDS OF SENIOR
CITIZENS, THE NATIONAL INFLATION RATE, AND OTHER
RELEVANT ECONOMIC INDICATORS, AS REPORTED AND
PUBLISHED BY THE PERTINENT GOVERNMENT AGENCIES OR
AUTHORITIES: PROVIDED, THAT THE SOCIAL PENSION SHALL
NOT BE LESS THAN THE AMOUNT INITIALLY SPECIFIED IN THIS
ACT.

“THE COVERAGE OF THE SOCIAL PENSION PROGRAM SHALL
ALSO BE REVIEWED BY THE DSWD, IN CONSULTATION WITH
DBM AND OTHER RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS, AND WHEN
NECESSARY, ADJUSTED TO INCLUDE THOSE WHO ARE
RECEIVING BELOW BASIC PENSION.”

boo. 4
SEC. 3 Separability Clause. — \f any provision of this Act is declared invalid or
unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and
effect.
SEC 4. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders or rules and regulations
contrary to, or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified

accordingly.

SEC. 5. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete
publication in the Official Gazette or in any two (2) newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,