House oks P2,000 pension hike on second reading

MANILA — The House of Representatives approved on second reading the bill increasing the pension of pensioners of the Social Security System (SSS) by up to P2,000.

“This means that those receiving the lowest monthly pension of P1,200 will get P3,200 when the measures becomes a law,” Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said.

Colmenares, the principal author of the bill, also noted that the approval is a “positive development.”

“The P2,000 is a good start and we will keep on pushing for a further increase,” he said.

Colmenares added that six of his colleagues in the Makabayan bloc earlier proposed to make the across-the-board SSS pension increase P5,000.

“We thank committee on government enterprises and privatization chairman Rep. Jesus Sacdalan (of North Cotabato) for facilitating the passage of the bill in his committee,” he said.

Colmenares said that he is also hoping that the House whould approve the measure on third and final reading before the start of the second regular session on June 11.