Some 3,570,646 or 94 percent of 3,796,791 indigent senior citizens nationwide including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), have been validated, as of August 22, 2019, to be eligible beneficiaries of the Social Pension program being implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Social Pension is a program under Republic Act No. 9994 or the  Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 which provides monthly stipend amounting to P500 to indigent senior citizens in order to augment their daily subsistence and other medical needs.

It can be recalled that the Department has an ongoing validation  as part of its efforts to ensure that only eligible seniors will receive the monthly subsidy provided by the government.

Of the total number of validated beneficiaries, 2,814,410 seniors are already included in the clean list after they were cross-matched to the data base of pensioners under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), and the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO). DSWD has collaborated with the said agencies for cross-checking of Social Pension beneficiaries vis-à-vis their database for pensioners.

DSWD uses the criteria stated under Republic Act 9994 to undertake the validation. These are the following: senior citizens, 60 years old and above, who are frail, sickly, or with disability;  no pension from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), Armed Forces and Police Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. (AFPMBAI), or any other insurance company; no permanent source of income; and no regular support from family or relatives for his/her basic needs.

Those who are interested to know more about the program are encouraged to go to the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) of their city or municipality, or in the DSWD Field Office covering their area.  -30-