THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) disclosed that over 41,000 indigent senior citizens from the province of Antique received their annual social pension for the calendar year 2023.

“The DSWD has disbursed and completed the release of the first and second semester pensions to some 41,927 indigent senior citizens in the province,” DSWD Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez said on Monday.

“Our DSWD Field Office-6 (Western Visayas) was able to complete the first semester payout in April and the second semester payout last October. The Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens would be of great help to further assist the elderly with their daily subsistence and other medical needs,” he added.

According to Lopez, indigent senior citizens are entitled to a cash aid of P500 per month or P6,000 per year.

The social pension is granted to any elderly person over the age of 60 who is frail, sickly, or disabled and who does not have a pension or a permanent source of income, compensation, or financial aid from his or her relatives to meet his or her basic needs.

The DSWD also granted P100,000 cash gift to 29 Antique centenarians, or people who have attained the age of 100.

Established by Republic Act 10868, also known as the “Centenarians Act of 2016,” the Centenarian Program offers P100,000 in cash incentives to centenarians who live in the Philippines or abroad, along with a letter of felicitation signed by the President of the Philippines expressing deep appreciation for their longevity.