Senior citizens from Laoag City, Ilocos Norte receive PHP3,000 each under the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens at Laoag City multi-purpose hall on Oct. 21, 2025. The Department of Social Welfare and Development on Saturday (March 14, 2026) said the social pension is delivered door-to-door in geographically-isolated and disadvantaged areas so that beneficiaries living in remote mountainous areas no longer need to endure long and dangerous journeys just to receive government support. (Contributed photo)
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has moved to clarify the circumstances behind a viral video showing a bedridden senior citizen being transported down a mountain on a carabao-drawn cart, saying government responders acted immediately to assist the family and deliver aid.
In a statement released Saturday, Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group said Field Office 2 in Cagayan Valley, together with the local government unit of Cabarroguis, quickly coordinated support for Lolo Jaime after learning of his situation.
“Agad pong kumilos ang DSWD at ang lokal na pamahalaan nang malaman namin ang sitwasyon. Mahalagang masigurong ligtas ang ating mga nakatatanda at hindi na sila kinakailangang dumaan sa mapanganib na biyahe para lamang makuha ang tulong ng pamahalaan,” Dumlao said.
She explained that the agency’s Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens is designed to be delivered door-to-door in remote communities precisely to spare elderly and bedridden beneficiaries from exhausting and risky travel.
“Gusto natin maramdaman nila na kahit nasa malalayong lugar sila, naroon pa rin ang pamahalaan upang maghatid ng serbisyo,” she added.
Lolo Jaime lives in Barangay Dibibi, a remote mountain village in Cabarroguis, Quirino, which requires an estimated two-and-a-half-hour hike from the town center to reach. According to the DSWD, personnel from the agency and the Cabarroguis LGU immediately went out to meet the family on the road after learning they had already started descending the mountain to claim his pension.
He was given P3,000 in social pension, covering P1,000 per month for the first quarter of the year. The DSWD also extended food assistance worth P5,000 and informed the family of medical assistance available through the Social Welfare and Development Office.
Additional support was mobilized through local partners to address Lolo Jaime’s condition. His case was endorsed to the Department of Health’s Purok Kalusugan program under the Doctors to the Barrios initiative so his medical needs could be prioritized.
To help improve his mobility and daily care, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office was also tapped for the provision of a wheelchair, which is now ready for pickup by the village captain.
Barangay health workers and barangay nutrition scholars have likewise assured the family that Lolo Jaime is now part of their regular health monitoring list to ensure sustained follow-up and care.
Through the coordinated response, the DSWD said the case underscores the government’s commitment to reaching vulnerable citizens even in the country’s most isolated communities, while ensuring they receive assistance without being exposed to further hardship or danger.
