FACT CHECK: No P12,000 pension for all senior citizens

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The proposed measure granting universal social pension for all senior citizens is not yet a law

Claim: All senior citizens will receive a P12,000 pension from the government, to be distributed before the May 2025 national elections.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube channel “Pulsong Pinoy,” which has 126,000 subscribers, has posted the claim multiple times within the past two months. The most popular video has garnered 52,175 views and 1,900 likes, while its most recent video has 4,316 views and 253 likes. 

The video is titled “P12K universal social pension, ipapamahagi na bago mag-eleksyon! Paano ito kunin?” (P12,000 universal social pension will be distributed before the elections! How can it be claimed?)

Its thumbnail shows a photo of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and images of P1,000 bills.

When watching the video, more photos of these bills are flashed across the screen, while the audio of an interview with then-National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) chair Franklin Quijano plays in the background.

The facts: A proposed measure granting universal social pension to all senior citizens has not yet been passed into law. While House Bill 10423 was approved by the House of Representatives in May 2024, it has remained pending at the committee level of the Senate since January 2025.

Furthermore, the proposed measure stipulates that the monthly stipend for non-indigent senior citizens will start at P500. Within five years of the law’s enactment, all senior citizens would be entitled to a universal social pension amounting to P1,000, not P12,000 as the video claims.

The audio used in the misleading video does not contain information on the supposed P12,000 pension, nor does it have any statement from Marcos as its thumbnail implies. Instead, the video’s audio actually comes from a 2023 interview with Quijano, where he discussed the NCSC’s functions.

Cash aid for senior citizens: Currently, only indigent senior citizens, defined as those with no source of income and support from their families, are entitled to a monthly pension amounting to P1,000.

If enacted into law, the proposed Universal Pension for Senior Citizens Act would expand the current social pension program to cover all senior citizens, not just indigents. The proposed measure states that this pension may be received “regardless of any other pension benefits they may receive from other pension providers.” 

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) manages the distribution of social pension for indigent senior citizens. Reliable information on the program can be found on the DSWD’s official website and social media accounts on X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. 

Meanwhile, the NCSC manages the distribution of cash gifts for octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians under Republic Act No. 11982 or the Expanded Centenarians Act. Official information on the program can be found on the NCSC website. 

Previous fact-checks: Rappler has debunked other false claims about financial aid from the government:

• FACT CHECK: Hindi pa naisasabatas ang Universal Social Pension for senior citizens
• FACT CHECK: Negros Oriental’s Sagarbarrias didn’t say Duterte rally attendees won’t receive cash aid
• FACT CHECK: Website showing 4Ps February 2025 beneficiaries is fake
• FACT CHECK: PhilHealth member benefits to continue despite zero subsidy in 2025
• FACT CHECK: No PhilSys cash aid for national ID registration     

– Shay Du/Rappler.com

Shay Du is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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