The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the release of P1.2- billion fund assistance for elderly indigents, as part of the government’s measures to achieve inclusive growth.
Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the funds will be released to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the Social Pension of Indigent Senior Citizens.
The expanded senior citizens law allows elderly indigents to receive additional monthly stipend worth P500 under the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens. “We crafted the 2015 budget to prioritize the poor and the vulnerable, including indigent senior citizens. This release will allow us to address the basic needs of our elderly indigents, who do not otherwise have the resources to support themselves,” Abad said in a news statement released on Tuesday.
He added that the indigent senior citizens law defines “any elderly who is frail, sickly or with disability, and without pension or permanent source of income, compensation or financial assistance from his/her relatives as determined by the DSWD.”
Abad said the P1.2-billion fund will benefit some 200,000 elderly indigents 65 years old and above.
The fund will come from the DSWD’s P2015 budget worth P5.96 billion for the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens.
The entire amount is intended to benefit some 939,609 indigent senior citizen this year. The fund request of the DSWD is based on the documents submitted to the DBM that include a detailed Financial Plan, a Monthly Disbursement Program, a Physical Plan, and other documentary requirements.
“In working closely with our agencies and helping them improve their budget and project plans, we can make public spending more transparent and accountable,” Abad said.