Aid available only in 2022

CEBU, Philippines - The around 4,000 registered solo parents in Cebu City who expect to receive the P5,000 yearly financial aid next year as promised to them when the council passed the solo parent ordinance on May 7 may have to wait a while longer. In fact, a whole lot longer.

This after Councilor Sisinio Andales said the 4,086 newly registered solo parents in north and south districts will only be granted the financial assistance in 2022 yet.

 “No one is qualified yet and no one will receive the financial assistance,” he said.

 The ordinance provides that for the solo parent to avail of the cash assistance “he or she must be registered and a resident voter of Cebu City who has voted in three consecutive local and national elections.” The beneficiaries are likewise only limited to those who earn an annual gross income of below P60,000.

Hence, for solo parents to be qualified, they have to vote in the 2016, 2019 and 2022 elections.

 Andales, a lawyer by profession, pointed out that the previous local and national elections cannot be counted as “retroactive” but rather “prospective.”

 Councilor James Cuenco said the merits of the ordinance should emanate from the time the law was passed similar to other ordinances and laws.

 “All laws except criminal law are prospective in nature,” he said.

Councilor Alvin Dizon agreed, saying his Barrier-Free Tourism is a prospective ordinance, which means the establishments and tourism sites have three years from the passage of the ordinance to comply with the requirements to institutionalize universal barrier-free designs, standards and specifications for tourism-oriented establishments.

Councilor Noel Eleuterio Wenceslao also said newly registered solo parents should be considered qualified since they already voted in three consecutive elections in previous years.  

In a phone interview, Councilor Gerardo Carillo, the author of the Solo Parents Ordinance, strongly disagreed.

“They are just trying to muddle the issue. Dili nato sagulan og pamolitika ang Solo Parent Ordinance,” he said, adding that an ordinance can be retroactive if people will benefit from it.

He clarified further that the assistance covers scholarships, livelihood assistance and prioritization in housing projects, among others.

 For those who are qualified, P10,000 will be granted for the tuition fee and P500 miscellaneous expense every semester starting June. An additional P1,000 will also be given as living expense to solo parents from the mountain barangays.

 Moreover, Andales said the City Hall’s executive department technically cannot allot P40 million for the implementation of the ordinance next year. The allocation is part of the proposed budget for Cebu City for 2015.

 “It’s quite huge. I am surprised. Why is it we have to budget P40 milllion? No one is qualified with the amount yet,” he said during the budget deliberation yesterday.

 The amount forms part of the total proposed appropriations of the Department of Social Welfare and Services amounting to P359.8 million.

 With the amount, the city is targeting 8,000 solo parent beneficiaries to receive P5,000 as livelihood assistance.

 To settle the issue, Councilor Mary Ann Delos Santos said they have to revisit the minutes of the session in May.

“We really have to check because during the final deliberation of the ordinance, the issue of practicability was raised and it was immensely tackled,” she said.

 Councilor Eugenio Gabuya, on the other hand, suggested the city legal office study whether or not it is proper and valid to grant P5,000 aid next year to qualified solo parents.

 Mayor Michael Rama earlier vetoed the proposal, calling it impracticable, discriminatory and violative of the equal protection clause guaranteed by the Constitution.

He added it can be seen as an encouragement for premarital sex, promiscuity and other ills that destroy the very foundation of families.

The City Council, however, overruled the veto.—/BRP (FREEMAN)