Eastern visayas: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Eastern Visayas (Region 8), in cooperation with 143 local government units (LGUs), has distributed PHP1.59 billion in social pension funds to indigent senior citizens during the first half of 2026.

According to Philippines News Agency, Lawyer Jonalyndie Chua, DSWD-8 information officer, stated that the program benefited 267,003 senior citizens in the first quarter and 263,315 in the second quarter, with each qualified beneficiary receiving PHP6,000 for six months. The beneficiaries are seniors who do not receive a pension from the government or private institutions.

Chua highlighted that in line with Republic Act No. 11315, also known as the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) Act, the DSWD has adopted CBMS data as the primary basis for identifying and selecting qualified beneficiaries for the social pension program. This transition supports the government's commitment to using updated, localized, and data-driven information to deliver responsive social protection services.

The DSWD released the funds to LGUs through the Transfer of Funds (ToF) modality, which involves transferring the budget for social protection programs directly to local governments. According to Chua, this arrangement facilitates faster and more efficient distribution of stipends by reducing logistical bottlenecks. LGUs are better positioned to distribute the assistance, as they are familiar with local conditions, such as the distance of communities from payout centers, the availability of senior citizens, and local events.

Each qualified indigent senior citizen receives a stipend of PHP1,000 per month for the entire year, with the funds released quarterly. This initiative is part of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, a government intervention designed to improve the living conditions of poor older persons. The assistance aims to augment their capacity to meet daily subsistence and medical needs, thereby reducing the incidence of hunger and helping prevent neglect, abuse, and deprivation.

In 2025, DSWD-8 released PHP3.31 billion in social pension funds to more than 276,000 senior citizens enrolled in the program.