South Cotabato, Philippines – Governor Reynaldo S. Tamayo Jr. assured the public that the Provincial Government of South Cotabato has put strict safeguards in place to ensure that only legitimate beneficiaries receive senior citizens’ pensions, emphasizing that there will be “no ghost senior citizens” in the province’s assistance programs.
According to Governor Tamayo, the province has established a system where service delivery is closely coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, especially for programs in which funds are downloaded to local government units for direct disbursement.
“We now have an alignment in the delivery of services together with the DSWD. There are programs where funds are downloaded to the local government, and we are the ones responsible for disbursing them. One example is the pension for senior citizens, where local governments distribute the assistance to ensure faster delivery,” the Governor said.
He noted that this approach has proven to be effective and has become a good practice that other provinces are now looking to replicate. Under this system, pension funds for senior citizens are coursed through the Provincial Government, allowing provincial teams to personally deliver the assistance when necessary—even down to the municipal or barangay level.
“The pension of senior citizens passes through the provincial government, and if needed, we personally go down to the municipal or barangay level just to make sure that the rightful pension reaches our senior citizens in the province,” he added.
Governor Tamayo further underscored the Provincial Government’s firm stance against political patronage in the distribution of social assistance. He stressed that pensions should be given strictly to qualified and identified beneficiaries, ensuring accountability and integrity in the process.
“Our executive leadership is proposing that there should be no political patronage involved—what matters is who truly needs the assistance. These pensions have specific names and identified recipients. We are simply ensuring that they are properly distributed and that there are no ghost individuals or recipients, so the pensions go directly to the people who deserve them,” Governor Tamayo emphasized.
The Provincial Government of South Cotabato continues to work closely with national agencies to strengthen governance, promote transparency, and ensure that social protection programs reach their intended beneficiaries efficiently and fairly.
