About 95 percent of the enrolled indigent senior citizens in Davao City have already received their social pension worth P3,000 for the lump sum of six months or P500 per month.
Department of Social Welfare and Development XI (DSWD XI) regional director Raquel Nuñez bared in the One Davao Virtual Presser that the agency employed measures to ensure the safety and protection of this vulnerable group, the senior citizens, from COVID19 infection.
“ Naghimo mi ug measure sama sa 50 lang ka senior citizens ang nakaschedule i-cater kada oras aron mamaintain gihapon ang social distancing (We established measures such as allowing only 50 senior citizens to be accommodate per hour so we can still maintain social distancing),” she said.
The DSWD also follows a schedule that enables the staff to efficiently cater the beneficiaries while strictly following the minimum health protocols set to avoid the spread of COVID19 especially at the payout sites like gymnasiums or covered courts.
Nuñez highlighted the close coordination and facilitation of the local government units and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in providing security personnel in every pay-out site.
Following the almost completion of Davao City’s social pension pay-out, other provinces are already preparing the payroll and logistical requirements for the pay-out.
The Social Pension Program for the indigent senior citizens is an additional assistance or stipend to augment the daily subsistence and other medical needs of indigent senior citizens.
Due to the pandemic, the DSWD XI distributed at once a lump sum of the social pension good for six months or equivalent to P3,000.
“ We are distributing this early for their January-June stipend so that our indigent senior citizens can already use the subsidy. We will be releasing the July to December by August or September. We are doing this to at least bridge the gap caused by this pandemic,” she said.
There are a total of 264,792 beneficiaries of the program region-wide: 60,373 are in Davao City, 38,484 are in Davao del Sur, 43,572 are in Davao Oriental, 51,699 are in Davao del Norte, 20,859 are in Davao Occidental, and 49,804 are in Davao de Oro. (PIA XI/Frances Mae Macapagat)
