黑料社

MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Former Interior Secretary and senatorial aspirant Benhur Abalos Jr. has cautioned against 鈥減oliticizing鈥� social pensions for indigent senior citizens, following reports of backlogs in distributing the government allowance.

His comment came after Wednesday鈥檚 Senate hearing on the budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, where it was confirmed that 600,000 indigent senior citizens were waitlisted from receiving their P1,000 monthly pension.

鈥淲e got word that only select senior citizens were prioritized to receive their pensions from the government first. Supposedly, those close to barangay officials were the first to be given their pensions, but that doesn鈥檛 seem fair,鈥� Abalos said in Filipino on Thursday.

READ: No pension fund yet for 600,000 waitlisted poor senior citizens

鈥淭he government allotted funds for that so it should be used correctly. Let us not allow only a few to benefit from the money that鈥檚 supposed to help our beloved seniors,鈥� he added.

The former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) chief pointed to the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, which provides for an allowance of P500 per month to aid senior citizens鈥� expenses and medical needs.

The Social Pension for Indigent Seniors Act doubled the monthly allowance to P1,000, after lapsing into law on July 30, 2022.

READ: Social pension budget for indigent senior citizens鈥� doubled for 2024

鈥淥ur elders have contributed much to the growth and development of our communities, and it is our responsibility to care for them, especially in their twilight years,鈥� Abalos said.

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Abalos was DILG secretary from June 30, 2022 to October 7, 2024. He resigned from the post to run for senator in the 2025 elections.