Ejercito eyes P2,000 senior stipend

Senator JV Ejercito has proposed doubling the current P1,000 monthly social pension for indigent senior citizens to P2,000 to help elders cover maintenance medications and save a little for basic needs like food.

The last increase in the social pension for seniors was in July 2022, after the bill that doubled the initial P500 stipend lapsed into law as Republic Act 11916.

Senate Bill 2522, filed by Ejercito in September, seeks to amend the law by increasing the amount twofold amid the escalating costs of food, electricity, transportation and health care.

“For many retirees, a modest monthly pension is quickly consumed by maintenance medicines, medical consultations, food, rent, electricity, transportation and other necessities. The small statutory pension they receive every month is far from the financial security we envisioned for our seniors,” the bill reads.

A 2024 census by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that roughly one in every 10 persons is a senior citizen. Given this figure, Ejercito said the government must ensure the social protection system keeps pace with the changing needs of the elderly, particularly those who are financially challenged.

The Senate bill defines an indigent senior citizen and would expand the definition to include elderly Filipinos who have no pension or permanent source of income, as well as those who receive a pension, compensation or financial assistance not exceeding P10,000 per month, subject to determination by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The bill would also remove the existing requirement that an indigent senior citizen be “frail, sickly, or with disability” to qualify for the social pension.