Quimbo’s senior pension bill included in approved measure

THE House Special Committee on Senior Citizens has approved the committee report and substitute bill for the Universal Social Pension for Senior Citizens that seeks to mandate the provision of social pension for all Filipino senior citizens. Included in the approved substitute bill is Rep. Miro Quimbo’s House Bill 1421.

Currently, only indigent senior citizens are eligible to receive the P1,000 monthly stipend. SSS and GSIS pensioners are excluded from coverage. The approved substitute bill seeks to address this gap and expand the coverage by making social pension mandatory for all senior citizens, ensuring that no elder is left behind simply because they do not fall under a narrow definition of indigence.

The Marikeño lawmaker pointed out that only a limited number of senior citizens receive pensions from SSS or GSIS but older Filipinos remain providers or contributors to household expenses despite having little or no regular income. The current GSIS and SSS pensions are also not enough to cover the daily and medical needs of senior citizens.

“Ang isa sa gusto kong ma-address kaya ako naghain ng panukalang amyendahan ang social pension for senior citizens ay yun disqualification ng mga SSS and GSIS pensioners. Una, hindi na makatotohanan ang halagang natatanggap sa SSS at GSIS pension kumpara sa daily at medical expenses kapag naging senior citizen ka na. At mas mahalaga para sa akin – why are we penalizing those who worked and supported themselves during their youth? It is unfair to penalize those who contributed to the nation through taxes while they were working. Excluding them from the social pension is discriminatory. We need to amend that.”, Rep. Quimbo emphasized.

Rep. Quimbo also said this measure not only addresses the real situation of senior citizens, but also gives them dignity and security as they age.

“Ang ating mga lolo at lola ay buong buhay na nagtrabaho, nag-alaga ng pamilya, at nag-ambag sa komunidad. Pero sa pagtanda, sila ay madalas nalalagay sa alanganin pagdating sa pang-araw-araw na gastusin. Thus, we are extending this universal benefit to honor all our senior citizens’ for their societal contributions and help them meet their needs with dignity and peace of mind.” Rep. Quimbo said.

The approved bill will be transmitted to the House plenary for further deliberations.