BAGUIO CITY, Benguet — Following the posting of dubious information reportedly from the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) in social media, Department of the Interior and Local Government Cordillera (DILG-CAR) regional director Araceli San Jose urged the public to refrain from spreading unverified and misleading information regarding the status of the bill amending the social pension for the indigent senior citizens’ program.

In a statement, San Jose advised the general public to be more vigilant and discerning in their consumption of information, as one of the schemes involved copying the icon and logo or even the actual website of the NCSC to make it appear official or legitimate.

“We would like to call on our Kailyans to refrain from disseminating false and misleading information, particularly on social media platforms, because it might cause confusion and panic,” she said.

The DILG official underscored that as of present time, the bill amending the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens Program into the Universal Pension Program, which will then cover both pensioners and non-pensioners, has not yet been approved in the House of Representatives.

The Universal Social Pension is a proposal that states that all senior citizens, regardless of their financial situation or economic class, are entitled to a monthly stipend.

San Jose added that implementation of the program has also not been transferred from the Department of Social Welfare and Development to the NCSC. Thus, submitting the Senior Citizen Data Form is not required in order to qualify for the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens Program.

She stressed that the public should be wary of rumors and disinformation pertaining to various issues that particularly include the distribution of social pensions to indigent senior citizens as well as the transfer of functions and duties of senior citizen-related benefits and programs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to the NCSC.

Meanwhile, NCSC chairperson Atty. Franklin Quijano explained that while it is factual that Republic Act 11916, or the Act Increasing the Social Pension of Senior Citizens, mandates a 100 percent increase in the monthly pension of indigent senior citizens—from ₱500 to ₱1,000—it would still need to be funded by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and could only go into effect once the National Treasury has allocated the necessary funds.

“Currently, only around 4.1 million of the total 12.2 million indigent senior citizens receive a monthly social pension of ₱500, but that will soon be doubled under RA 11916 once it receives funding from DBM,” Quijano announced.