There may be light at the end of the tunnel for the one million qualified indigent senior citizens who remain on the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) waitlist.

During the agency’s 2026 budget deliberation on Wednesday, the DSWD secured the support of the Senate Finance Committee for the inclusion of these seniors in the Social Pension (SocPen) program.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian told the Senate Finance Sub-committee, chaired by Senator Pia Cayetano, that while the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) currently serves more than four million beneficiaries, an additional P12 billion is needed to cover all qualified waitlisted seniors.

“We have a running waitlist of close to one million qualified indigent seniors. They have passed the criteria but we simply lack the budget to include them,” Gatchalian said when asked about the challenges in implementing the SPISC.

The SPISC provides a P1,000 monthly stipend to poor, frail, or disabled Filipinos aged 60 and above who have no income, existing pension, or family support. The stipend was doubled from P500 to P1,000 in January 2024 under Republic Act 11916, which sought to keep pace with rising costs of medicine, food, and health care.

Senator Loren Legarda underscored the need to find funds for the program. “For the P12 billion, we’ll find a source if we can. If the reports are correct — that there’s more than P250 billion for flood control in the NEP [National Expenditure Program], and if the House has not yet reallocated it elsewhere, that’s acceptable,” she said.

Senator Cayetano likewise expressed support, stressing that additional funding is both necessary and timely given inflationary pressures. “Yes, of course we can recommend it,” she said.

Senator Bong Go also backed the proposal, saying, “Baka pwede naman pong i-reallocate dito sa social pension. Matatanda na po [ang mga benepisyaryo natin], magamit po nila yan pambili ng pagkain at medisina.”

Gatchalian welcomed the senators’ support, saying the DSWD remains committed to ensuring that qualified indigent seniors receive the government aid they are entitled to under the law.