Senator Loren Legarda has filed a bill that would provide eligible senior citizens with a P1,000 monthly stipend to help them purchase maintenance medications.

Senate Bill No. 164, titled “An Act Providing Monthly Maintenance Medication Support for Senior Citizens,” aims to ease the financial burden on older Filipinos managing chronic illnesses.

“We are alleviating the burden of our senior citizens by helping them manage these debilitating diseases as they get older,” Legarda said.

“This is to fulfill the government’s mandate to ensure that senior citizens have access to affordable healthcare, including the medications necessary for maintaining their health and well-being,” she added.

Legarda, the principal author of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, stated that current discounts on medicine may not be enough for many seniors.

Under the proposed legislation, beneficiaries would be issued a monthly medication support card that is non-transferable and not convertible to cash. To be eligible, a senior citizen must have a valid prescription issued within the last six months.

The bill includes penalties for fraud and abuse of the program.

“This is to pay homage to those who have toiled and paved the road for all of us; this is a small token of recognition,” Legarda said. “We are here to affirm the state’s promise to take care of our senior citizens, helping make sure no one is left behind.”