House OKs proposal doubling pension of poor elderly

MANILA, Philippines — A bill seeking to double the monthly social pension of about three million indigent senior citizens from P500 to P1,000 was approved recently by the House of Representatives.

By way of voice voting at the plenary last Tuesday night, House Bill 9459 which also proposes to make the process of availing of the social pension easier was passed on second reading.

The measure, an amendment to Republic Act 7432, was previously approved by the committee on senior citizens chaired by Senior Citizen party-list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes.

“We really worked on this bill because we know for a fact that P500 is not enough to help our fellow senior citizens meet their daily needs,” Ordanes said.

“We amended the qualifications for social pensioner by eliminating the need for them to also be ‘frail, sickly and disabled.’ Now, our senior citizens just have to prove that they do not have a permanent source of income,” he added.

Thanking Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and their colleagues for their support, Ordanes is now hopeful that after third and final reading approval in the House, its counterpart bill in the Senate filed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III also faces smooth sailing.

CHR backs early voting for seniors, PWD

Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) supports proposed legislation to allow qualified senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) to cast their ballots a week before the elections.

Last month, the House committee on appropriations approved funding for the consolidated bill enabling the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to designate accessible establishments for early voting of vulnerable members of the population.

“We strongly support the enactment of this policy in the next readings in Congress to make sure that senior citizens and persons with disabilities can fully exercise their right to suffrage and political participation, especially during pandemic times,” said CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia.

Apart from accessibility concerns, De Guia noted the need for government to attend to new requirements for social distancing, personal protective equipment and other health and safety measures in voting centers.

Higher teacher honoraria

In a related development, the Department of Education (DepEd) said the Comelec has approved its proposal to increase the honoraria for teachers serving in the May 2022 polls.

“We want to express our gratitude to the Comelec for approving our request for higher compensation for our teachers that will render their services in the next year’s election. Given the current health situation, it is rightful for them to receive additional allowance,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said.

In an earlier letter to Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas, Briones recommended an increase in the compensation of those who will serve as chairperson and members of the electoral boards, as well as the DepEd Supervisor Officials (DESO) and support staff.

She proposed a P3,000 increase or from P6,000 to 9,000 for electoral board chairs; P5,000 to P8,000 for electoral board members; P4,000 to P7,000 for (DESO), and P2,000 to P5,000 for support staff.

Briones also asked the poll body to consider providing an allowance of P1,000 for food and water and increasing the transportation allowance from P1,000 to P2,000.

In response, the Comelec said it would include in its proposed 2022 budget the increase in honoraria, provision of P2,000 transportation allowance and P1,000 for food and water, health insurance coverage, funds for cleanup and maintenance of schools and honoraria for the election task force.

But it said that the P500 per day as COVID-19 hazard pay requested by the DepEd for authorized poll workers might not be feasible. — Janvic Mateo