PUALAS, LANAO DEL SUR — The Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) through the Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens (SocPen) fieldworkers in Lanao del Sur B Provincial Office conducted a house-to-house distribution of the stipends of the bedridden and sickly clients in Barangays Diamla, Maligo, Talambo, Danugan, Tamlang, Linuk, and Dapao in Pualas, Lanao del Sur on September 22-24, 2021.
Since the start of the SocPen payout on September 22 in Pualas, a total of 1,017 indigent senior citizens of the total target number of 1,056 beneficiaries in the municipality have received their stipends equivalent to PhP 6,000 each.
According to Haimah Manongcarang, Social Welfare Assistant of the Municipal Social Welfare Office of Pualas, the pay-out for the remaining elderly clients will be completed today in their area during the payout.
The MSSD Lanao del Sur-B office ensured that proper health protocols were properly observed, and scheduled the distribution of grants per barangay to avoid massive gatherings.
During the payouts and house-to-house distribution, the municipal government of Pualas, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO), and the Pualas Central Elementary School administration provided logistical support.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) was also present to ensure the security and safety of everyone. The Rural Health Unit (RHU) also monitored the health of the clients and provided face masks.
Aside from the social pension, indigent senior citizens who are in more difficult situations can also avail of assistive devices from MSSD upon assessment of the field social workers.
“After the pay-out, the next step will be the house-to-house revalidation process to further know their health conditions in this pandemic and also to validate eligible applicants of the program,” Manongcarang said.
The payout for the 18 municipalities under the scope of MSSD Lanao del Sur B Provincial Office already started on September 15, and this is set to be completed on October 14, 2021.
As of today, a total of 6,093 indigent senior citizens have been paid in Lanao del Sur B. (Jidday Lucman/MSSD BARMM)