Quezon City – For 81-year-old Magdalena Arce-Amejana of Camarin, Caloocan City, the Social Pension Program implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has helped her in many ways.

Lola Magdalena has been a beneficiary of the program since 2012. She shared her story during the Monday’s flag ceremony at the DSWD-Central Office.

“Napakalaking tulong po talaga sa aking pamilya ang natatanggap kong buwanang pensyon mula sa DSWD, hindi na ako namumulot ng basura sa kalsada upang may makain kami  (The monthly pension I receive from  DSWD is a big help to my family. With my pension, I need not go back to the streets to scavenge for trash just to have some money for food),” Lola Magdalena narrated.

Lola Magdalena knows her priority when it comes to spending.   When she first received her pension amounting to P3,000 (for six months) she immediately bought two pieces of iron sheets and some pieces of plywood to construct her own home.

Although she decided to live separately from her seven siblings, she still helps them from time to time.

She also narrated that she used her succeeding pensions to start a small sari-sari store in front of her house.

“Sa tuwing nakatatanggap ako ng pensyon, ang kalahati ay itinatabi at idinadagdag ko sa aking puhunan para sa maliit kong tindahan, kung saan namin kinukuha ang pang-araw araw na panggastos (Every time that I receive my pension, I save half of it and use it as additional capital  for my small sari-sari store which supports our daily needs),” Lola Magdalena said.

“Kahit gaano kahirap ang buhay huwag tayong mawawalan ng pag-asa.   Kaya natin ang pagbabago kung gagamitin natin sa wasto ang anumang tulong mula sa pamahalaan (Don’t lose hope despite the hardships in life. We can improve our lives if we put government support into good use),” Lola Magdalena shared.

“The amount of P500 maybe not be a lot for some, but it is for senior citizens like Lola Magdalena. This enables them to live a more comfortable life in their twilight years,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said.

Social Pension Program

Sec. Soliman said that the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens is one of the provisions under Section 5 of Republic Act 9994, otherwise known as the ‘Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010,’ which provides P500 monthly stipend to senior citizens to augment their daily subsistence and other medical needs.

The priority beneficiaries of the Social Pension are senior citizens 77 years old and above who are frail, sickly and disabled, who do not have regular source of income and/or support from any member of the family, and who do not receive other pension benefits from government and private agencies.

For this year, the government allocated P2.87 billion for the program to benefit 479,080 poor senior citizens nationwide.

For 2015, the DSWD has proposed a budget of P4.43 billion to cover indigent senior citizens aged 60 years old and above. ###