House Ways and Means Committee chair Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda has urged the Senate to approve the proposed Universal Social Pension for Senior Citizens Act (House Bill 10423 which he said is fiscally sustainable, and pledged to source out funds for it.
The bill seeks to grant P1,000 to all Filipino senior citizens. “Now, I myself am telling the Senate that we can fund the Universal Social Pension,” Salceda said.
Salceda, who also heads the House’s Joint Committee on Senior Citizens (SC) and Persons with Disability (PWD) Benefits, said he had a talk with Senator Imee Marcos, chair of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development, to push for the bill’s passage.
“I talked with Senator Imee Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee discussing the bill, during her visit to Albay. I assured her we can sustain universal social pension fiscally. The Senate committee can still pass it during the break. I’ll take care of finding the funds). She assured me she will study it carefully,” he said.
Salceda cited government estimates showing the incremental costs of the program would be PHP28.8 billion in the first year, covering 2.4 million new recipients; PHP43.7 billion in the second year, covering 3.64 million additional recipients; and PHP68.9 billion in the third year, covering 5.74 million new beneficiaries.
“I proposed to Sen. Marcos) the following schemes to make it fiscally sustainable: On the first year, we will make it universal for all 70 years old and above. On the second year, it will cover those at 65 years old. On the third year, it will benefit those at 60 years old. All social pensioners already enrolled in the program will keep their benefits. We will index the increase to cost of living, so it catches up to inflation,” he added.
The projected senior citizen population in 2024 is 16.39 million, with 3.7 million currently receiving social pensions. Salceda said the program can be funded by cutting 10 percent from the ‘ayuda’ (cash aid) budget and increasing taxes on pickup trucks, vape products, and mining operations.
“There will also be laws taxing pickup truck sales, vape, and mining. With adjustments in the ‘ayuda’ budget and the tax increases in these non-essential products, that will be enough,” the noted economist lawmaker explained.
Salceda argued that social pension is not a government handout but something seniors have earned through their accumulated contributions to the economy.
“We have a moral obligation to our senior citizens. This is not cash aid; this is something they already earned by having contributed to the economy all their lives. This is their right. Our pension system is inadequate,” he pointed out.
Salceda also linked the program to his push for Universal Basic Income (UBI) Act, saying taxation should help those who can no longer work. He said “this will also help us eventually transition to universal basic income. I have pushed this during the pandemic, and after intense debates with the DOF, at least 90 percent of the people were covered by the Social Amelioration Program.
“The role of taxation is redistributive; we tax those who do very well so that we can help those who have contributed to the economy in the past but can no longer support themselves due to old age,” he further explained.
In May 2024, the House of Representatives approved HB 10423 with 232 affirmative votes. The bill seeks to expand the current social pension program to cover all senior citizens, not just indigents. If enacted into law, it would provide a PHP500 monthly stipend for senior citizens who are not classified as indigents.
Under Republic Act No. 7432, indigent senior citizens currently receive a PHP1,000 monthly stipend to assist them in basic needs and medical expenses. Within five years, if the proposed HB10423 is enacted into law, all senior citizens would be entitled to a universal social pension of at least PHP1,000, regardless of any other pension benefits they may receive.
Through hearings presided over by Salceda, the government increased the senior discount on essential goods to P500 from P260, removed the need for the booklet to avail of discounts for medicines, made easier the application process for the senior citizen rate in electric cooperatives and distribution utilities like Meralco, expanded the Philhealth benefits for seniors, implemented the SC discount on top of promo rates, and encouraged more malls to give free parking to seniors. Tollways have also committed to provide SC discounts.
