“No one can be denied benefits that are intended for the people.”
This is in response to the complaint of a 68-year-old senior citizen from Tondo, Manila, against their Barangay Chairman for not including him in the list of social pensioners.
Veteran lawyer Atty. Melanio “Batas” Mauricio warned all barangay officials not to deprive senior citizens of their social pensions.
Atty. Batas reiterated that anyone who violates Section 1 Article 3 of the 1987 Constitution would be held liable for graft and corruption and could be put into jail for up to six years of imprisonment.
The senior citizen sought the help of Pambansang Sumbungan: #ipaBITAGmo to lodge a complaint against a Barangay Chairman for not including him in the list of social pensioners due to lacking voter registration.
The complainant narrated to #ipaBITAGmo that he was told by the barangay chairman to secure a voter registration to be included in the list of beneficiaries.
The monthly social pension of indigent senior citizens has increased to P1,000 from P500 under the Republic Act (RA) 11916, which amends RA 7432.
Meanwhile, Atty. Batas Mauricio, the resident lawyer of BITAG Multimedia Network (BMN) explained that the social pension should be applied to all Filipinos that reached 60 years of age and up, without an existing pension from the government, and without a permanent source of income.
Whether they are registered voters or not, they should be given equal opportunity, according to Atty. Batas.
Under the law, indigent senior citizen refers to: “Any elderly who is frail, sickly or with a disability, and without pension or permanent source of income, compensation or financial assistance from his or her relatives to support his or her basic needs, as determined by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in consultation with the National Coordinating and Monitoring Board.”
“Ito po ay maliwanag na diskriminasyon. Sa ilalim po ng Section 1 Article 3 ng 1987 Constitution, ang sabi diyan, ano ang unang reglamento sa pagbibigay ng karapatan, hindi mo pwedeng alisan ang sinuman ng karapatan o ari-arian ng hindi mo siya binibigyan ng pagkakataong magpaliwanag,” Atty. Batas explained.
“Walang sapat na tungtungan o batayan yung binabanggit ng barangay. ‘Yung isa bibigyan kasi botante at yung isa hindi bibigyan dahil hindi botante. Naku po!,” he added.
The seasoned lawyer noted that in such cases, elected officials can be held liable under the Philippine Constitution for violating the anti-graft and corrupt practices act.
“Wala kayong karapatan na alisan sila ng ayuda,” Atty. Batas emphasized.
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