Pensioners with poverty line pensions

By Virgiinia Jasmin Pasalo

 

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is tasked “to provide emergency subsidies of P5,000 to P8,000 for two months, as well as livelihood assistance grants to the low-income households affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).” The emergency subsidy includes provisions for food and non-food items, and financial assistance through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) as well as those provided by various national government agencies as provided under Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of 2020.

The amount earmarked to be received by the vulnerable sectors during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic is based on “the maximum subsidy per region determined from the region’s minimum wage levels.” Guidelines for the disposal of these amounts are contained in the “Joint Memorandum Circular forged by DSWD, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Finance (DOF), and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).”

Foremost among the beneficiaries are the poorest of the poor based on the existing list of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) Program. The 4Ps beneficiaries will be supported with a top-up on their grants and rice subsidy to reach the maximum benefit per region. This means that if the maximum benefit in the region is Eight Thousand Pesos (P8, 000.00), and the existing grant is at the level of Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00), she can expect a top-up of Three Thousand Pesos (P3,000.00).

Where are the pensioners in this equation? The guideline excludes pensioners (who are senior citizens) from the list of the beneficiaries for the emergency subsidies. According to SSS, as of May 2019, “the pension fund has more than 1.5 million retiree-pensioners, over 940,000 survivorship-pensioners, and 85,000 disability pensioners.” A considerable number, if not a majority, are pensioners receiving Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) or less. They have no other source of income and live alone or with their closest kin. They are one of the most vulnerable sectors for whom the subsidies should be allocated, in addition to the 4Ps beneficiaries. The list of pensioners is readily available and verifiable with the SSS.

The President can direct the SSS to identify pensioners as described and allocate funds to top-up the existing pensions to reach Eight Thousand Pesos (P8,000.00) across the board for the duration of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), in addition to all other subsidies accruing to individuals qualified for the social amelioration program, to be applied retroactively. The top-up could be reflected in their monthly pension for April or May, 2020.

I am curious as to how many pensioners are out there, receiving pensions less than the middle-income poverty line, certainly among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, but excluded from the equation of government allocation under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of 2020.

The Women in Development (WID) Foundation had started a petition to include pensioners receiving P5,000 or less to be included in the social amelioration program during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). Kindly sign the petition by copy-pasting the link http://chng.it/NdrNKFKX on your browser.

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