LEYTE 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, along with three fellow lawmakers, filed House Bill 7663 on Feb. 9, aiming to provide a P3,000 monthly pension to elderly farmers.
"The creation of a pension program for qualified elderly farmers is crucial for providing financial security, reducing poverty, and ensuring a decent standard of living in their later years, as they are often considered among the poorest in society with limited access to formal, consistent income," they said in the bill's explanatory note.
Romualdez and Tingog Representatives Yedda Marie Romualdez, Andrew Julian Romualdez, and Jude Acidre co-authored the bill.
"Because many farmers face low, variable incomes and often work past traditional retirement age due to financial necessity, pensions offer a guaranteed, regular income source, reducing their dependence on family members or the need to sell off assets to cover living expenses," they said.
The bill defines an elderly farmer as someone at least 60 years old who is not receiving a pension from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), "or similar private retirement systems."
The bill tasks the Department of Agriculture (DA), "in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC)," with implementing the Farmers' Pension Program.
Under the bill, "direct beneficiary or household member claims through accredited banks, cooperatives, or remittance centers" are allowed.
It aims to provide basic life and disability insurance to indigent and disabled farmers not covered by the GSIS or SSS, the lawmakers said in the bill's explanatory note.
Under the bill, the basic life insurance amounts to at least P50,000, while accident and disability aid amounts to up to P25,000 per claim.
Additionally, Section 6 of the bill aims to provide access "to burial benefits, emergency loans and social case management" to indigent and disabled farmers who are not enrolled in the GSIS or SSS.
The PCIC shall lead implementation "with premium subsidies sourced from this Act's appropriations."
The bill defines an indigent farmer as one classified as such by the concerned local government unit (LGU) "based on the data collection at the local level, supervised by the Philippine Statistics Authority" in line with Republic Act 11315, or the Community-Based Monitoring System Act.
Meanwhile, the bill defines a disabled farmer as one who has "a medically certified physical or mental impairment, permanent or temporarily incapacitated for the performance of farm work in which he/she was habitually engaged."
Section 7 of the bill mandates the DA and other government offices mentioned to "establish and maintain a national database of elderly, indigent, and disabled farmers."