AS the 19th Congress enters its final two session weeks, House Ways and Means Chair Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda (Albay, 2nd District) has issued a final, urgent appeal for the passage of the Universal Social Pension Act—a measure he describes as both fiscally viable and morally imperative.
In a letter sent today to Senator Imee Marcos, one of the key Senate advocates of the measure, Salceda reaffirmed his full support for a version that grants PhP500 per month to all Filipinos aged 60 to 69, and PhP1,000 per month to those aged 70 and above, with annual inflation adjustments—while maintaining the existing PhP1,000 per month for indigent seniors.
“We are down to the last two session weeks. If there is a time to do this, it’s now. This is a legacy we can afford to leave the Filipino people,” Salceda said.
Salceda submitted a fiscal note estimating the 2025 cost of the proposal at PhP88.2 billion, covering 10.1 million senior citizens nationwide. He emphasized that the proposal is fundable without new taxes and can be supported through:
PhP41 billion in rationalized ayuda, including TUPAD, AKAP, and other duplicative or leakage-prone programs;
PhP47 billion in fiscal management mechanisms, including GOCC dividend enforcement, national government savings, and a Q2 implementation start.
“We’re consolidating scattered and politicized cash doles into a clear, rights-based entitlement. It’s more efficient, more humane, and more just,” Salceda said.
He further positioned the measure as a first step toward universal basic income, made increasingly necessary by labor-displacing technologies.
“This is the logic behind taxing foreign digital giants. As technology replaces labor, we must capture productivity and return it to people in the form of social dividends. A universal pension for the elderly is where we start,” Salceda added.
Salceda commended Senator Marcos for her leadership and pledged to support the measure in the House.
“I will do my part—in the airwaves, through research, and by helping secure the votes of our colleagues. This is a unifying cause. The fiscal math is sound. The moral case is undeniable. We can finish this in the 19th Congress,” Salceda concluded.
