By Charissa Luci-Atienza After being directed by President Duterte to validate whether or not the almost 4 million indigent senior citizens who receive social pension from the government are deserving beneficiaries, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) bared on Thursday, April 23 that it has come up with a "clean list" of 3.5 million rightful beneficiaries. Department of Social Welfare and Development (MANILA BULLETIN) DSWD Spokesperson Irene Dumlao said not all senior citizens will receive the monthly P500 social pension from the government. "Ito pong listahan ay vinalidate ito katuwang ang ibang ibang LGUs, likewise kasama ang SSS at GSIS para masiguro na walang tinatanggap na pension ang ating elderly. We were able to arrive at a clean list kung saan po 3.5 million po ang napabilang dito sa programa," she said in a radio interview. (This list was validated in coordination with the different LGUs, likewise, along with the SSS (Social Security System) and GSIS (Government Service Insurance System) to ensure that our elderly are not receiving pension. We were able to arrive at a clean list wherein 3.5 million are included in the program.) Under the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) program, qualified indigent senior citizens receive a monthly stipend of P500 to help augment their daily subsistence and other medical needs. Dumlao said among the conditions set before senior citizens receive the pension are the following: they are frail and sickly; they are not receiving pension from SSS, GSIS, and other insurance companies; they are not receiving assistance from their immediate family members; and they do have not resources for their daily subsistence and basic needs. "Kung sila ay pasok dito sa pamantayan, sila ay irerekomenda ng Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs sa ating mga local na pamahalaan at yun po issumite sa DSWD Field Office," she said. (If they meet all the requirements set, they will be recommended by the Office of the Senior Citizens' Affairs (OSCA) to the local governments and it will be submitted to the DSWD Field Office.) She said those senior citizens who are not included in the list, but are eligible can still appeal to the OSCA, their local governments and the nearest Field Office, which has jurisdiction over their areas, for assessment. "Maari pong lumapit sa OSCA o sa kanilang lokal na pamahalaan at maari silang dumulog sa pinakamalapit na DSWD Field Office. Maari po nila itawag ito para di na lumabas ang lolo at lola," Dumlao said. (They can go to OSCA, or to the local government, and they can appeal to the nearest DSWD Field Office. They can also make a phone call so that our grandfather and grandmother elderly will not go out.) In a Viber message to the Manila Bulletin, Dumlao said "three regions have already started with the distribution." On Sunday, April 19, DSWD Undersecretary for Special Concerns Camilo Gudmalin disclosed that the Department has started distributing six months’ worth of social pension amounting to P3,000 to indigent senior citizens. He disclosed that the DSWD has transferred the social pension funds to its Field Offices for distribution to the pensioners nationwide. He noted that Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) already started the payout for 49,000 pensioners. In a video message, Senior Citizen Party-list Rep. Francisco G. Datol had disclosed that six months’ worth of social pension for this year will be released soon. He said the funds will soon be claimed by the senior citizens. Datol had filed House Resolution No. 656 calling on the House of Representatives to look into the alleged "anomalous" and "illegal" delay or lack of disbursement of the social pension fund to senior citizens. He said P23 billion had been allocated for the program in 2019, which was supposed to benefit 3,796,791 indigent senior citizens. He said about 1.57 million seniors have not received their social pensions for 2019, citing a report from the DSWD. "In 2019, 3,796,791 indigent seniors were supposed to receive their pensions. The DSWD report indicates that as of December 31, 2019, only 2,226,034 seniors received pension," he said in an earlier statement. In February this year, DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista told the Manila Bulletin that there was a delay in the release of the social pension under SPISC because of the President Duterte's directive to the DSWD to validate whether or not the almost 4 million indigent senior citizens who receive social pension from the government are deserving beneficiaries, following reports SPISC has been abused. Bautista earlier said in 2019, almost 4 million senior citizens benefitted from the SPISC.