Parañaque senior citizens to get cash gifts in 2014

MANILA, Philippines - The Parañaque City government has announced that the city's 50,000 senior citizens will be gettting cash benefits starting next year with the implementation of the city's Senior Cash Transfer Program.

According to Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez, the benefit will be given to serve as recognition of the contributions of senior citizens to Parañaque's development.

Olivarez said the benefits are stated under City Ordinance 13-14 which also mandates the establishment of a Parañaque OSCA (Office of Senior Citizens Affairs) Cares Card System for registered and qualified senior citizens.

"We have delivered on another promise to our constituents, particularly to our elderly citizens, who deserve all the care and appreciation we can give in return for their long years of service to our communities and families,” Olivarez said.

"We will make sure that our citizens enjoy these benefits by providing the means and resources for these programs,” Olivarez added.

Ordinance 13-14 also mandates the allocation of P27 million for the first year of its implementation for cash transfers and death benefits for the senior city residents.

Thereafter, an amount of P29.5 million will be automatically appropriated for the succeeding years, with a provision of a 20-percent increase if deemed necessary by the implementing offices.

Under the ordinance, a senior citizen will get a P500 cash gift on his or her birthday and another P500 as year-end cash gift under the Cash Transfer Program.

The ordinance also mandates a minimum of P2,000 in death benefits to the survivors of deceased senior citizens.

Olivarez said the ordinance takes effect on January 2014. It was principally authored by Councilors Vincent Kenneth (Coach Binky) Favis and Joan Villafuerte-Densing and was approved by the City Council last October 24, 2013.

Under the ordinance, only senior citizens who are registered voters in the city and have been residents of Parañaque for at least three years, and must be a member of a duly accredited senior citizens’ association or organization in the barangays where they reside are the only ones qualfied to avail of the benefits.

Only senior residents who have met the qualifications set will be issued OSCA IDs and OSCA Cares IDs, both of which must be presented when collecting the cash benefits from their respective barangay halls.

The birthday cash gifts will be released every June for those whose birthdays fall between January and June, while those who celebrate their birthday from July to December may draw their cash gifts every December.

The year-end cash gift will be released every October, which is marked as Senior Citizens’ Month, Olivarez said.