More than 3.375 million indigent senior citizens have received their social pension for the first quarter of the year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Wednesday.
DSWD Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Irene Dumlao said each beneficiary received P1,000 per month, or P3,000 for the quarter, under the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) program.
As of June 1, Dumlao said the DSWD had served 90.88 percent of its 3.7 million target beneficiaries.
The agency is working to immediately release the pension of the remaining 338,881 senior citizens, she added.
The program covers indigent seniors who are frail, sickly or with disabilities; have no pension from the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, or other public and private pension sources; and have no permanent income or regular financial support from relatives.
The DSWD said the cash aid is intended to help beneficiaries meet their medical and daily subsistence needs.
Meanwhile, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian called on members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to prepare for the region’s aging population by developing a more inclusive and sustainable silver economy.
“The silver economy is sometimes thought of as a niche market for aging populations. In reality, it is far bigger than that. It is about redesigning society itself to ensure that longevity becomes an economic and social advantage, not a source of exclusion,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian made the statement during the opening of the ASEAN High-Level Forum on Unlocking the Silver Economy at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
He said ASEAN is facing a major demographic shift, with people aged 60 and above projected to make up more than 14.8 percent of the region’s population by 2030.
By 2035, the number of senior citizens in ASEAN is expected to reach 127 million.
Gatchalian said longer life expectancy should be matched with stronger support systems, as many older persons remain vulnerable to rising living costs, digital exclusion, gender inequality and lack of retirement savings.