Solon, Orville Jose C.Iglesias, Shayne R.Ong, Nadine Sheriz D.2026-08-312026-08-312026-06-05https://selib.upd.edu.ph/etdir/handle/123456789/5291"This study examines whether the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are associated with lower probability of depressive symptoms among indigent senior citizens in the Philippines. Drawing from Grossman's (1972) health capital model, this study derives a well-being function of income, program participation, and individual characteristics, operationalized through the 11-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale as an empirical proxy for well-being. Using the 2018 Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), logistic regression models were estimated for each CES-D symptom, controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic variables. Three sequential specifications were estimated across all eleven CES-D items, with interaction terms identifying differential program effects within the lowest wealth quintile. This study found that seniors in the lowest wealth quintile were significantly more likely to experience depressive symptoms across nine of eleven CES-D items, and that both programs function as domain-specific stabilizers: the 4Ps reduced rarely or not enjoying life by 3.8 percentage points and perceiving others as unfriendly by 1.7 percentage points, while the Social Pension reduced rarely or not feeling happy by 3.8 percentage points, poor appetite by 0.3 percentage points, restless sleep by 0.5 percentage points, and feeling disliked by others by 2.6 percentage points. Yet, neither program significantly reduced any of the three depressive affect symptoms: felt depressed, felt lonely, and felt sad. Given this, the study concludes that the Social Pension and 4Ps, at their current design and transfer levels, are insufficient to address the full burden of depressive symptoms among indigent senior citizens, and recommends that the Department of Social Welfare and Development, in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management, increase the Social Pension transfer amount and introduce a specific grant component targeting the health and well-being of indigent senior citizen household members within the 4Ps."enSocial ProtectionSocial Pension4PsDepressive SymptomsMental Well-BeingIndigent Senior CitizensCES-DThesis