BUTUAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Caraga Region (DSWD-13) started Tuesday the release of the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens Program (SocPen) this year.
“Some 3,351 indigent senior citizens from the towns of Malimono and San Francisco in Surigao del Norte received their first-semester SocPen in a series of payouts conducted on Jan. 30,” the DSWD-13 said in a statement on Wednesday.
The release will cover the pension of indigent senior citizens for the first semester of 2024.
The DSWD-13 said each beneficiary received PHP1,000 per month through the provision of Republic Act (RA) 11916 under the SocPen program.
RA 11916, which was signed into law on July 30, 2022, mandates the increase of the social pension of indigent senior citizens in the country.
The DSWD-13 urged senior citizens in the region to coordinate with their respective Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs for the schedule of the SocPen payouts. (PNA)