The guideline to access the cash amelioration program under the "Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of 2020" excludes pensioners (who are also senior citizens) from the list of the beneficiaries for the emergency subsidies. According to SSS, as of May 2019, “the pension fund has more than 1.5 million retiree-pensioners, over 940,000 survivorship-pensioners, and 85,000 disability pensioners.” A considerable number, if not a majority, are pensioners receiving Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) or less, way below the middle-income poverty line. They have no other source of income and live alone or with their closest kin. They are one of the most vulnerable sectors for whom the subsidies should be allocated, in addition to the 4Ps beneficiaries. The list of pensioners is readily available and verifiable with the SSS.

Urging President Rodrigo Duterte to direct the SSS to identify pensioners with monthly pensions of Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) and allocate funds to top-up the existing pensions to reach Eight Thousand Pesos (P8,000.00) across the board for the duration of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), to be applied retroactively. The top-up could be reflected in their monthly pension for April or May, 2020.