SC Party-list Ordanes thanked the Senators and the house for the full funding of the social pension.
Senior Citizen Partylist Rodolfo Ordanes and over 4-M indigent seniors commended Senator Migz Zubiri, Speaker Martin Romualdez, the bicameral conference committee, finance chair Sen. Sonny Angara and Rep. Elizaldy Co for their public assurance of full funding for the P1,000 social pension in the 2023 national budget.
"The quest has been arduous but we have succeeded in our relentless appeals for the welfare of indigent seniors," Ordanes said.
"We look forward to seeing the funding provision for the indigent seniors social pension when the bicam-approved budget is ratified here in the House and when the budget bill is signed in December, so we can show that to senior citizens nationwide," he added.
The full funding of the social pension will be Christmas 2022 gift to indigent seniors.
"It is a matter of survival to most impoverished seniors," Ordanes explained.
"At this point, I ask the Department of Social and Welfare Development (DSWD) to continue managing the distribution and disbursement of the indigent seniors social pension," he continued.
"I will be filing soon a new bill designed to unburden the DSWD of this task, by passing that role to the Social Security System (SSS) either by the SSS itself or by a subsidiary of the SSS created for the purpose of administering seniors social pension and benefits," he added.
Ordanes new bill will most likely help the DSWD to focus on its main social welfare functions and programs.
"I also take this opportunity to appeal to all seniors to please get their new bivalent COVID boosters when DOH makes them available early next year."
Meanwhile, seniors who are still unvaccinated must first get their first and second doses now, so that two months after the second dose, they can receive the bivalent booster designed for the Omicron variant and the older variant.
Based on the recent report of the Department of Health (DOH), 76.46 percent of the senior citizens have only received their primary Covid vaccines while 21 percent have yet to be vaccinated.
Most COVID deaths are the unvaccinated, mostly seniors.
"Kaya nakikiusap ako sa kamag-anak ng mga seniors na pabakunahan nila ang mga seniors kontra COVID ngayong Disyembre para pagsapit ng Marso o Abril ay pwede na silang bakunahan ng bivalent boosters," Ordanes said.
Tags: #SeniorCitizens, #SocialPension