BAGUIO CITY – Senior citizens who were able to reach certain ages in their lives stand to get incentives from the local government once a proposed ordinance defining age brackets and the corresponding incentives, now pending with the local legislative body, will be enacted.
Councilor Leandro B. Yangot, Jr. filed an ordinance granting cash incentives to senior citizens in the city who have reached the ages of 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95 and 100 with the respective amounts of P5,000, P10,000, P15,000, P20,000, P25,000, P30,000, P35,000 P40,000 and P50,000.
Yangot explained the grant of cash incentives will be applicable to bonafide residents of the city’s 128 barangays and that the cash gifts will be released to the beneficiaries on the occasion of their birthdays, provided that the recipients are duly registered with the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) and holders of issued identification cards issued by the local government.
Under the proposal, the local government shall allocate the required funds from whatever available source to support the sustained implementation of the grant of cash assistance to the deserving senior citizens of the city.
The OSCA and the City Legal Office will be tasked to promulgate the required rules and regulations to be approved by the City Mayor for the effective and efficient implementation of the proposed local legislative measure.
Yangot stated that as enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, it is the duty of the family to take care of its elderly members while the State may design programs of social security for them, thus, the City Council which is serving as the local legislative body, pursuant to the pertinent provisions of the local government code of the Philippines shall enact ordinances, approve resolutions and appropriate funds for the general welfare of the city and its inhabitants which shall ensure delivery of basic services and facilities.
In recognition of the vital roles and contributions of senior citizens to the city’s development into a vibrant city and a recognized tourist and investment destination in the country, while at the same time retaining its rich cultural identity and heritage and religious reverence, he cited that it is appropriate for the local government to grant its senior citizens in the form of cash.
According to him, the cash incentives to be given to senior citizens who were able to reach certain age limits is insignificant token as compared to their efforts in pioneering the spirits of the elderly in their magnanimous works in making the city more economically vibrant and progressive.
He added that as their age advances, the escalating prices of medicines and other medical concerns of senior citizens make their monthly pensions, if any, hardly sufficient for their rapidly increasing needs. The said condition is true to most of the city’s elderly, particularly those belonging to the older groups who are in a more fragile state of health, but not necessarily the less grateful for the privileges that come with their realization of how much the city genuinely and truly cares for them in their twilight years.
By Dexter A. See
