P45 million additional budget: Mike asks P1,000 more for seniors

CEBU, Philippines - Here’s some good news for the senior citizens in Cebu City.

Mayor Michael Rama is planning to increase the financial assistance to senior citizens by P1,000 each.

This move has been welcomed by many, including the mayor’s former allies, now critics, like Rep. Tomas Osmeña and Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young.

Rama has included in the proposed Supplemental Budget No. 2 the amount of P45 million to cover the increase.

The additional P1,000 incentive, if approved by the council, will be received by the qualified beneficiaries by the end of the year along with their P2,000 Christmas gift.

Young said they (the city council) will not oppose the budget if there are available funds for it.

He, however, gave a piece of advice to the mayor.

“My advice to the mayor is to find another project. Because even if he increases it to P10,000, the credit will still go to Tommy,” Young said.

Osmeña initiated the program in 2009, a year before he stepped out of City Hall at the end of his third term as mayor.

The budget was then sourced from income derived from the South Road Properties through the multi-billion deals with Filinvest and SM.

Osmeña, when asked for comment on the announcement of Rama, welcomed the idea and simply said “good”.

City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete said that the P45 million is on top of the P60 million to P70 million additional money for the program this year.

Poblete said that the P100 million initially included in the 2011 annual budget is nearly depleted with only over P20 million left even if they are still in the second quarter of the year.

This is because there are many additional enrollments to the program after they revised the guidelines for the qualification of beneficiaries.

“After we revised the program, many beneficiaries were able to qualify. Our number of beneficiaries has already ballooned to over 40,000 from about 30,000 during the start of the program,” Poblete said.

The additional P60 million to P70 million shall comprise the remaining half of the collectibles of the beneficiaries to be distributed on December.

The first batch of barangays to receive half of their assistance today until August 12 are San Roque, San Antonio, Sta. Cruz, Parian, Sto. Niño, Lusaran, Mabini, Malubog, San Jose, Tagbao, Zapatera, Carreta, Inayawan, and Pahina San Nicolas.

Other barangays are Adlaon, Agsungot, Sudlon I, Taptap, Sinsin, Buot-taup, Paril, Pit-os and Pung-ol Sibugay.

The beneficiaries from the rest of the barangays are expected to receive their assistance in the coming weeks. Guillermo Casinillo, Head of the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs, said that the Department of Social Welfare and Services is finalizing the master list.

The senior citizens receive P4,000 a year, P2,000 as birthday gift and P2,000 as Christmas gift.

But by December, if all goes well, the elderly can already enjoy the P1,000 additional aid.

Poblete said that the draft of the proposed SB 2 is scheduled to be submitted to the City Council today.

Casinillo said that the additional P1,000 would be a big help to the beneficiaries for the purchase of medicine and food. — /NLQ (FREEMAN)