• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Sangguniang Panlungsod is pushing for the immediate release of social pension to the first 1,000 persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Bacolod, identified by screening committees in the barangays, through the PWD Affairs Office.
The cash aid of P500 a month to each qualified PWD beneficiary is mandated under City Ordinance 1010, series of 2022, or the Bacolod Social Pension for Seniors and PWDs, as amended.
“The initial implementation of the program for the first 1,000 qualified beneficiaries would constitute a significant and concrete step toward the full and continuing implementation of the social pension program for all qualified PWDs in Bacolod City,” Councilor Caesar Distrito said in the resolution recently approved by the SP.
Considering the availability of an initial list of qualified beneficiaries, the city government should start the release of social pension, without prejudice to the subsequent inclusion of all other qualified PWDs as additional funds become available, Distrito, chairperson of the SP Committee on PWD Affairs, stressed.
The SP also called on the Department of Social Services and Development to validate and register the qualified PWD beneficiaries identified by the various barangay screening committees and to formulate the appropriate implementation and distribution mechanisms, in coordination with the Persons with Disability Affairs Office, the barangays, and other concerned offices.
The social pension aims to provide essential assistance to PWDs, who face significant financial, medical, physical, and social difficulties, and who are among the most vulnerable members of the community. | CGC
