The change comes as lawmakers acknowledged the challenges in securing the PHP113 billion government has to raise for the original plan.

United Seniors Partylist Rep. Mila Aquino-Magsaysay proposed the amendment during a Committee on Appropriations hearing chaired by Rep. Stella Quimbo, citing the need for fiscal prudence.

“Senior citizens are amenable to PHP500 monthly so long as the application is universal.” Aquino-Magsaysay said as she moved to amend the pending bill to reduce the amount of monthly pension it asked.

Under the bill, the country’s estimated 11 million senior citizens will receive monthly financial assistance from government regardless of their financial status.

However, implementing the PHP500 pension for all seniors could affect the 4.2 million seniors already receiving the PHP1,000 monthly social pension.

To address this, the committee has decided to refer the bill back to the technical working group for further amendment to avoid any adverse effects on current beneficiaries.

Despite the reduction, senior citizens and various organizations, including the Federation of Senior Citizens of the Philippines (FSCAP), have expressed support for the universal pension, emphasizing the importance of respect and dignity for seniors.

National Commission of Senior Citizens Chairman Franklin Quijano praised the move as a positive step towards enacting a USP law.

“We are happy of this move of the House of Representatives for the proposed universal pension program. It is not really the amount but the respect, dignity given to all seniors,” Quijano said.

Former QC Councilor Jorge Banal, president of FSCAP-NCR, also welcomed the recognition given by the Lower House, highlighting the bill's significance in acknowledging seniors' contributions to national development.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has raised concerns about the proposed pension's impact on the government's budget, noting that it would require a significant reallocation of funds from other priority programs.

“The implication of this is that we will have to reduce the allocation for other priority programs of the government in order to accommodate this proposal,” explained lawyer Trisha M. Baraan of the DBM information legislative service.