The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reiterated on Thursday that indigent senior citizens may present any valid government-issued identification (ID) card when claiming their Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC), stressing that the National ID is not a mandatory requirement for the payout.
“Nais lamang po naming klaruhin na hindi National ID lang ang tinatanggap namin tuwing payout ng social pension. Maaari pong magpresenta ng kahit anong valid government-issued ID ang ating mga lolo at lola, gaya ng senior citizen card, para matanggap nila ang kanilang pension (We would just like to clarify that the National ID is not the only ID accepted during the social pension payout. Our senior citizens may present any valid government-issued ID, such as their Senior Citizen ID, to receive their pension),” DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said in a news release.
The clarification came after a social media post by a Filipino vlogger based in Australia went viral, with more than 246,000 reactions and 52,000 comments as of writing.
The post claimed that the DSWD was requiring indigent senior citizens to present their National ID before they could claim their monthly social pension.
Dumlao said the DSWD only encourages senior citizens to secure their national ID to access other government services and assistance programs.
“Ine-encourage lamang po natin ang mga senior citizens na kumuha ng National ID dahil kalaunan ay ito na ang gagamitin ng iba’t ibang ahensya ng gobyerno bilang pangunahin o primary ID sa pagkuha o pag-access ng serbisyo ng ating pamahalaan (We are simply encouraging senior citizens to get their National ID, as it will eventually be used by various government agencies as the primary ID to access government services),” she said.
Dumlao also reminded senior citizens and their families to rely on official DSWD communication channels for accurate information regarding social pension payouts, requirements, schedules, and other social protection programs.
The SPISC is a social protection program of the DSWD intended to provide financial assistance to qualified indigent senior citizens who are 60 years old and above.
It seeks to augment the daily subsistence and other medical needs of senior citizens who are frail, ill, or living with a disability and have no regular income or pension, or do not have sufficient support from their families.
Under Republic Act 11916, or the “An Act Increasing the Social Pension of Senior Citizens,” qualified indigent senior citizens are entitled to receive a social pension of PHP1,000 per month. (PNA)