STARTING March 10, 2025 (Monday), the some 200,000 senior citizens in the city of Manila will begin receiving their doubled monthly allowance.
Mayor Honey Lacuna also assured the senior citizens that unlike in the past administration where getting the allowances was made complicated for senior citizens, the process, this time around, will be faster and hassle-free.
According to Lacuna, the city’s senior citizens may claim their allowance amounting to a total of P3,000 each, representing the first quarter of the year or the months of from January to March, via a payout to be conducted by their respective barangays.
“Simula po ngayong buwan ay hindi na mahihirapan sina lolo’t lola sa pag- claim ng kanilang quarterly allowance dahil sa mismong barangay hall na po ito kukunin. Buo po ang ating tiwala sa ating mga katuwang sa barangayan. Hindi na po nila kailangang mag-alala kung saan may ATM machine o kung nakalimutan man ang password ng kanilang mga card,” the lady mayor announced.
“Tao sa tao na po ang transaksyon natin ngayon para siguradong makukuha nila agad ang dobladong allowance,” Lacuna said, adding that after getting their allowance, the senior citizens may also go straight to the health center nearest to their barangay hall to get their free medicines.
Lacuna expressed gratitude to the barangay officials and health center workers who have been lending their help and support to ensure the success of the seniors’ payout and medical services.
It will be recalled that in October last year, Lacuna signed an ordinance doubling the allowance of senior citizens from P500 to P1,000 a month, matching the P1,000 monthly pension being given by the national government’s DSWD to indigent senior citizens.
The lady mayor lamented that the increase would have been made possible a lot earlier if the city had not been saddled with a P17.8 billion debt that she inherited from her predecessor, Isko Moreno.
The allowance for senior citizens is part of the social amelioration program passed by the Manila City Council when Lacuna was its Presiding Officer, a position she concurrently held as vice mayor then. Also being given monthly allowances under the program are persons with disability, solo parents and students from the two universities being run by the city government of Manila.
