SENATE Majority Leader Joel Villanueva on Tuesday said the bill increasing the monthly social pension of indigent senior citizens from P500 to P1,000 is now a law.
Villanueva, sponsor of the measure in the 18th Congress, shared a copy of Malacañang’s letter signed by Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez, informing the Senate President that the bill has lapsed into law last July 30.
Villanueva said apart from the increase in the monthly social pension for indigent senior citizens, the law also provides options other than cash payout for the pension to reach the target beneficiary. The transaction fee, if any, shall not be charged to the beneficiary.
The measure also transfers the implementation, distribution, and management of the social pension for senior citizens from the Department of Social Welfare and Development to the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) within a period not exceeding three years.
In May, the Senate approved on third and final reading the proposed Act Increasing the Social Pension of Indigent Senior Citizens and Appropriating Funds Therefor.
The House of Representatives adopted the Senate version of the bill.
