A bill was filed by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez seeking a P3,000 monthly pension and life, accident, and disability insurance for farmers.
“The creation of a pension program for qualified elderly farmers is crucial for providing financial security, reducing poverty and ensuring a decent standard of living in their later years, as they are often considered among the poorest in society with limited access to formal, consistent income,” Romualdez said on his House Bill (HB) No. 7663.
Romualdez said many farmers face low, variable incomes and often work past traditional retirement age due to financial necessity. Pensions offer a guaranteed, regular income source, reducing their dependence on family members or the need to sell off assets to cover living expenses.
Titled, “An Act providing a monthly pension and social protection program for qualified elderly, disabled and indigent farmers who are not covered by existing retirement systems, and for other purposes to be known as the ‘Comprehensive Farmers’ Pension and Social Protection Act,’” the measure, also co-authored by Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre, defines an elderly farmer as “a qualified farmer aged 60 years and above, not currently receiving any pension from SSS, GSIS or any private retirement system.”
A disabled farmer is “a farmer with a medically certified physical or mental impairment, permanently or temporarily incapacitated for the performance of farm work in which he/she was habitually engaged.”
An indigent farmer is one “officially classified as such by their respective LGUs based on the data collection at the local level, supervised by the Philippine Statistics Authority in accordance with Republic Act No. 11315, otherwise known as the Community-Based Monitoring System Act.”
A farmer is “any individual primarily and directly engaged in crop production, livestock raising, aquaculture, or other agriculture-related work, whether as landowner, tenant, or agricultural worker.”
The proposed law provides that the Department of Agriculture (DA), in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., shall implement the farmers’ pension program, which shall include a P3,000 monthly pension and basic life and disability insurance for farmers not covered by SSS and GSIS.
The DA shall “allow direct beneficiary or household member claims through accredited banks, cooperatives, or remittance centers.”
The envisioned basic life insurance shall amount to P50,000, while accident and disability assistance is set at up to P25,000 per claim.
Funds for the pension and insurance program shall be included in the annual budgets of DA and DSWD.
The DA and other relevant agencies are mandated to establish a national database of elderly, indigent, and disabled farmers.
Penalties include imprisonment of one month to one year, or a fine of P10,000 to P100,000, or both, for those involved in fraud in relation to the program.
If the offender is a public officer, he shall be temporarily disqualified from holding public office, in addition to administrative and criminal sanctions.