THE proposed measure that seeks to grant P2,000 hike to Social Security System pensioners and vetoed by former President Benigno Aquino III has been filed at the House of Representatives.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, principal authors of the measure, expressed hope that the measure will finally be enacted into law under the Duterte administration as even President Rodrigo Roa Duterte himself has supported the proposal which intends to help the millions of Filipino pensioners cope with the rising cost of living.
Zarate stressed the pension hike bill can now be fast-tracked in the 17th Congress so that pensioners will finally “received the long delayed benefit due them.”
“When the 16th Congress closed, more than 130 congressmen supported the resolution to override the unjust and callous veto of former President Aquino. Now, we are truly glad and thankful that several other members of the House are filing the same measure that Bayan Muna filed since 2011,” Zarate said.
“Our optimism is also buoyed by the fact that President Digong Duterte also supported the pension increase; hopefully it will generate the necessary push so that the P2000 SSS pension hike will finally be enacted into law before the year ends,” Rep. Zarate, who also hails from Davao City, said.
On top of the SSS pension hike bill, the Bayan Muna party-list group filed other bills such as the proposed Genuine Freedom of Information, Lower Income Tax, and the Anti-Political Dynasty.
He added that Bayan Muna also filed House Resolutions for the immediate resumption of the peace talks between the government and National Democratic Front, the immediate release of political prisoners, a call for a moratorium on coal mining, the investigation of the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike Project and the stopping of the privatization of Fabella hospital.
“I hope that these legislative measures would immediately be tackled, discussed and passed by the House as they all address the needs and demands of our people that Bayan Muna and, no less than President Duterte himself vowed to prioritize and serve,” Zarate stressed.
During the campaign period, Duterte vowed to reverse Aquino’s veto and vowed to grant the wish of pensioners for an increase in monthly pension.
In a grand rally in Angeles City, Pampanga, Duterte said government should treat all retired government and private sector workers with fairness by giving them what they paid for in pension and pointed out that retirees have urgent necessities such as medicines whose prices have gone high.
