The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has extended direct assistance to a bedridden senior citizen in a remote mountain village in Quirino Province, following a viral video showing him being transported on a carabao-drawn cart to claim his pension.
DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said on Saturday, March 14, that the agency immediately coordinated with its Field Office II and the local government of Cabarroguis after learning about the situation of the elderly beneficiary, identified as Lolo Jaime.
The agency clarified that under the Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens, aid is delivered door-to-door in remote communities to prevent bedridden beneficiaries from making long and risky journeys.
DSWD Field Office II Regional Director Lucia Alan confirmed that the case was verified after the agency saw the online post about Lolo Jaime, who resides in Barangay Dibibi—a mountainous area requiring a two-and-a-half-hour hike from the town center.
Authorities rushed to meet the family along the road after learning they had already begun bringing him down the mountain to collect his pension.
Lolo Jaime received ₱3,000 in social pension, equivalent to ₱1,000 per month for the first quarter of the year.
In addition, DSWD provided ₱5,000 worth of food assistance and informed the family about medical aid available through the Social Welfare and Development office.
Local health workers conducted an initial check-up, supplied maintenance medicines and vitamins, and referred him to the Department of Health’s Purok Kalusugan program under the Doctors to the Barrios initiative for further medical support. (Ellalyn de Vera Ruiz)
