Senator pushes PHP 1,000 monthly medication aid for seniors

Senator Loren Legarda has filed Senate Bill No. 164, seeking to provide senior citizens with a PHP 1,000 monthly stipend to help cover the cost of maintenance medicines.

“We are alleviating the burden of our senior citizens by helping them manage these debilitating diseases as they get older,” Legarda said.

“This is to fulfill the government’s mandate to ensure that senior citizens have access to affordable healthcare, including the medications necessary for maintaining their health and well-being,” she added.

Legarda, who authored the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, said discounts on medicines may not be enough to meet the needs of elderly Filipinos.

Under the proposed measure, eligible seniors with a valid prescription issued within the last six months will receive a monthly maintenance medication support card.

The card will not be transferable or convertible to cash.

Fraud and abuse of the program will be penalized under existing laws.

“This is to pay homage to those who have toiled and paved the road for all of us; this is a small token of recognition,” Legarda said.

“We are here to affirm the State’s promise to take care of our senior citizens, helping make sure no one is left behind,” she added.