Bill seeks financial , counseling aid for widows, widowers
A measure that seeks to provide financial and counseling assistance to indigent widower or widow, has been filed in the House of Representatives.
In filing House Bill 7795 or “Widower and Widow Financial Assistance Act, CIBAC party-list Rep. Bro Eddie Villanueva underscored the need to provide assistance to the indigent widower or widow to help them alleviate the grief, pain, and financial impact of loss in the first few months of bereavement.
“Death is an inherent certainty of life and the loss of a loved one, particularly a spouse, surely brings pain, anxiety, or sometimes ‘brain freeze’ in which the mind is deeply entangled in grief and unable to process things normally. Much more if the dead spouse is the sole breadwinner of the family, the financial loss due to the departure of the income earner aggravates the degree of grief and pain of the surviving spouse,” Villanueva said.
“With this measure, widowers/widows will be given financial assistance and emotional support to sustain them during a difficult time when they are vulnerable to bad and risky decisions that usually lead them to further hardships or debts. This aid will greatly help them and their families, especially the indigents, emerge victorious after an experience of a devastating loss,” he added.
HB 7795 mandates the provision of financial assistance to indigent widower/widow an amount equivalent to the prevailing minimum wage rate in the place of his/her residence for a period of three months.
Such assistance can be availed upon presentation of a residential and indigent certificate issued by the covering barangay or local government unit in addition to a marriage certificate and the death certificate of the departing spouse. The said residential/indigent certificate must also certify that the spouses were living together at the time of death.
In addition, HB 7795 mandates that a social worker from the barangay must provide grief counseling to help the widower/widow cope with the loss of his/her better half.
However, the bill also states that those widows that are already entitled to such assistance of the same kind under any existing law are not covered by the measure.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in coordination with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be tasked to issue the necessary Implementing Rules and Regulations once the bill is enacted into law.
