Vargas pushes for year-end bonus for Senior Citizens

FILE: Elderly beneficiaries sit in line in Barangay Bahay Toro, Quezon City. (PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)

MANILA – Quezon City 5th District Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas has filed a bill seeking to grant an additional year-end bonus for indigent senior citizens.

House Bill 6693, or the “Paskong Maligaya para kay Lolo’t Lola Bill”, aims to provide an additional year-end bonus to indigent elderly who qualify under the Expanded Senior Citizens Act and the newly enacted Republic Act No. 11916 or the Expanded Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens Act.

Under the bill, elderly pensioners shall receive an additional PHP1,000 apart from their monthly PHP1,000 allowance under the Social Pension for Indigent Seniors program, to be paid before the 25th of December every year.

“Our senior citizens have contributed so much to our country and most have remained capable of supporting their families and grandchildren. This holiday season, let us grant the wish of our lolos and lolas to be granted more benefits albeit through a year-end or Christmas bonus,” Vargas said.

Through HB 6693, Vargas said he is continuing the legacy and advocacy of his brother and predecessor, incumbent Quezon City Councilor Alfred Vargas, one of the principal authors of Expanded Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens Act.

“Institutionalizing year-end bonuses for our indigent Filipino elderly is a way of providing better social safety nets and protection for our senior citizens and their families. In the spirit of giving, we must extend help especially to our lolos and lolas who need it now more than ever,” Vargas added.