With seniors and the group Seniors Kontra Kurakot (SKK, or Senios Against Corruption), lawmakers from the Makabayan Bloc filed a proposal on August 13 in the House of Representatives to immediately raise the monthly pension of the poorest seniors. ACT Teachers’ Rep. Antonio L. Tinio, Gabriela Women’s Rep. Sarah Elago and Kabataan Rep. Renee Co filed House Bill No. 10770 to provide additional support to seniors amid soaring prices of food, medicine, utilities and other basic needs.

The proposal stems from SKK’s continuing advocacy, the group that pushes for state responsibility toward seniors and demands adequate additional budget allocations and other social services for seniors. Former Department of Social Welfare and Development secretary Judy Taguiwalo leads the group.

SKK and the Makabayan bloc propose raising the pension to ₱2,000 from ₱1,000 and extending coverage to Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System pensioners receiving ₱10,000 or less per month. “This is a concrete step toward recognizing that our senior citizens deserve not merely gratitude, but adequate and sustained social protection,” Rep. Tinio said.

SKK welcomed the proposal, saying it is an important response to the growing call from the elderly for a social protection system that is adequate and inclusive. It said resources for social services must be increased through stricter accountability in government spending and by ensuring that essential services are prioritized, instead of public funds going to corruption, waste and other unnecessary expenses.

“Senior citizens have contributed decades of work and service to their families, communities and society. They deserve a pension and social protection system that allows them to live with dignity, not one that leaves them struggling to survive,” SKK said.

Similar proposals are regularly filed by the Makabayan Bloc in every Congress to ensure the rights and welfare of the elderly. However, these are routinely buried in Congress and the Senate, and vetoed by the president when passed by Congress. Despite this, SKK called on Congress and the national government to support the proposal to raise and expand the social pension program, and to ensure that adequate funding is allocated for its implementation.

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