MALATE, Manila— About 36,502 poor senior citizens are receiving monthly cash grants in MiMaRoPa according to the DSWD Social Pension (SocPen) Program.

In the recent  SocPen regionwide Project Implementation Review (PIR)   shows that the DSWD MiMaRoPa has disbursed more than Php22.1 million to 14,749 beneficiaries for the first and second quarter of 2015. Pay-outs of cash grants to senior citizens are ongoing for the said two quarters.

Social Pension is a social protection program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that provides php500.00 monthly cash grant to indigent senior citizens aged 60 years old and above stipulated in the Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

Beneficiaries of SocPen are determined by the DSWD in coordination with the local government units, local Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) and Federation of Senior Citizens Association of the Philippines (FSCAP). The Department prioritizes indigent, frail, sickly or with disability, and without pension or permanent source of income senior citizens.

To date, the province of Oriental Mindoro has 11,759 social pensioners while 10,333 pensioners in Palawan. There are 5,992 pensioners in Romblon and 5,444 pensioners in Occidental Mindoro. Nonetheless Marinduque has 2,974 social pensioners. ###