City Needs Over P350M For ‘Seniors’

While Mayor Michael Rama is eager to give another round of cash assistance to over 60,000 senior citizens in the city, he is not sure if the city has the necessary funds for it.

There were 56,516 of the 59,285 senior citizens registered by the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) who received P4,000 each during the first distribution of the cash assistance on March 25 and 26.

OSCA head Rolando “Dodong” Llaguno said the mayor told him that he wanted to include the budget for the cash assistance of senior citizens in the next Supplemental Budget.

But the mayor did not say the amount.

Since there are over 5,000 new applicants for the cash assistance, the number of beneficiaries is expected to go up to more than 60,000.

The city still needs over P350 million to give the remaining P6,000 cash assistance to senior citizens.

The Cebu City Council had approved P600 million under the 2013 Annual Budget for the cash assistance of senior citizens at P10,000 each. But because of the scarcity of funds, the release has been held in abeyance.

“Ato g’yud nga paninguhaon nga makahatag kita og cash assistance ngadto sa mga senior citizens pinaagi sa Supplemental Budget,” said Llaguno.

But some City Hall observers said there is no need to include the amount in the additional budget if the city has the necessary funds.

At last Wednesday’s session of the City Council, Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr. asked the executive department to release the balance of the senior citizens’ cash assistance because they need it for their drug maintenance.

When asked by reporters about the progress of the Supplemental Budget No. 3, the mayor did not say when it can be submitted to the council.