ILOILO CITY – The government’s Philippine Postal Corp. has completed the door-to-door delivery of P1,500 cash amount to 329 senior citizen beneficiaries of the social pension program in this city.
Iloilo City is one of the four pilot areas in Iloilo for the social pension to senior citizens aged 77 years old and above amounting P493,500 and delivered on June 4-7, 2013.
PhilPost Reg. Dir. Favioleta Ferraris said the city delivery is successful while the mailmen will complete the deliveries on June 10-14, 2013 for the municipality of Anilao, Iloilo with 154 beneficiaries amounting to P231,000; municipality of Calinog, Iloilo with 226 beneficiaries amounting to P339,000 and in the municipality of Pavia, Iloilo with 78 beneficiaries amounting to P117,000.
Ferraris said the partnership between PhilPost and DSWD was also realized in the delivery of conditional cash transfer (CCT) or the 4Ps funds to beneficiaries in the barangays in coordination with Landbank of the Philippines.
In remote areas, Philpost mailmen will have to deliver the cash social pension but in the first attempt without the beneficiary, the mailman returns the next day. Still without the beneficiary, the mailman advises the family of the beneficiary to personally get the cash pension at the Philpost office
The cash social pensions will cover the period April, May and June 2013 at P500 per month or a total of P1,500 each beneficiary and will be pilot tested for cash delivery through the PhilPost mailman for three months or from June to August 2013.
Republic Act 994 provides for monthly stipend of P500 per month each senior citizens to be received every quarter of the year, will augment the daily subsistence and other medical needs of the indigent senior citizens.
DSWD reported that the Social Pension Program in Western Visayas caters to 133 local government units with a registered 19,904 indigent senior citizens age 77 years old and above. The program has an annual allocation of P119,424,000.
The beneficiaries aged 77 years and above are 2,365 in the province of Aklan; 2,256 in antique; 2,259 in Capiz; 742 in Guimaras; 7,386 in Iloilo including Iloilo City; and 4,525 in Negros Occidental including Bacolod City.
On the other hand, the region has a total population of 614,307 senior citizens age 60 years old and above. The registered senior citizens are 49,325 in Aklan; 51,089 in Antique; 64,136 in Capiz; 14,447 in Guimaras; 171,774 in Iloilo; 187,403 in Negros Occidental, 35,405 in Iloilo City; and 40,728 in Bacolod City.
