Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III on Monday backed the growing push to institutionalize a Universal Social Pension for senior citizens, saying the country has a moral obligation to protect all elderly Filipinos who spent their lives sacrificing for their families and the nation.
Speaking at the turnover of the initial batch of signatures of the “Labing-Dalawang Milyong Lagda para sa Matatanda (12 Million Signatures for the Elderly)” signature campaign at the House of Representatives, Dy said millions of Filipinos are now calling for stronger support for senior citizens struggling with rising medicine, healthcare and costs of living.
“Naniniwala po ako na ang tunay na paglilingkod ay nagsisimula sa pakikinig, pag-unawa, malasakit, at pagmamahal (I believe that true public service starts with listening, understanding, sympathy and love),” Dy said before senior citizens’ groups, lawmakers and supporters of the pension measure.
At present, government financial assistance for senior citizens is limited to indigent elderly Filipinos under the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens program, which provides PHP1,000 monthly to qualified beneficiaries.
The program covers senior citizens aged 60 and above who are frail, sickly, living with disabilities and have no pension or permanent source of income or financial support from relatives.
Dy said the proposed Universal Social Pension is more than a financial assistance program and should instead be viewed as a recognition of the dignity and contributions of senior citizens.
“That is why the Universal Social Pension is not simply about assistance, it is about dignity, gratitude, and compassion,” Dy stressed.
“Given the costs of medicine, food, and health care, our seniors must be provided support to help them afford all of their basic needs,” he added.
The Speaker from Isabela also underscored what he described as the moral responsibility of government and society to care for vulnerable Filipinos, particularly the elderly.
“Let us always remember: The true measure of a nation is how it cares for its most vulnerable citizens,” the House leader said, as he assured senior citizens that the House would continue supporting measures aimed at easing their burdens and improving their quality of life.
The event, led by United Senior Citizens Party-list Rep. Milagros Aquino-Magsaysay, chairperson of the House Committee on Senior Citizens, marked the formal turnover of millions of signatures gathered nationwide urging Congress to strengthen social protection and financial security for senior citizens.
Aquino-Magsaysay described the campaign as a growing nationwide movement among senior citizens seeking the passage of a long-awaited universal pension measure.
She said the signature campaign launched last March 18 has since mobilized senior citizens’ associations, organizations and federations across the country in support of the proposed legislation.
“Our Ceremonial Partial-Turnover today of the more than one million signatures in support of the bill reverberates the strong clamor of the more than 12 million senior citizens all over the country asking for our government to give preferential attention for the promotion of their welfare and rights,” she said in her message.
Aquino-Magsaysay stressed that she has been advocating for the measure since the 17th Congress, emphasizing that the proposed pension recognizes the rights of elderly Filipinos.
“With the emergence of various economic crises and challenges that befall upon our elderly, now more than ever the Universal Social Pension becomes an existential and moral imperative,” she said.
She said the signature campaign would continue nationwide until the proposed Universal Social Pension bill is enacted into law.
“Simula pa lamang po ito (This is just the start). We hope to gather more and more signatures from across our regions, provinces, cities and municipalities until our voices are heard and our signatures turn into law,” she said. (PNA)