By Jel Santos
Senior citizens in Makati City aged 90 to 99 will receive P10, 000 cash gift per year, Mayor Abigail Binay announced on Sunday.
Makati Mayor Abby Binay (My Makati / MANILA BULLETIN)
She noted that they should be Blu Card holders for at least five years. Based on the data of the local government, a total of 1, 968 elderlies are qualified to get the cash gift.
“We want to add new ways of helping our senior citizens who deserve care and compassion from the city government. Providing an additional P10,000 cash benefit yearly for our elderly in the said age group would help defray their daily subsistence and other needs,” she said.
Binay is bullish that the City Council will back her proposed program for it to be immediately implemented next year for nonagenarians.
According to the program, a senior citizen who has been a Blu Card holder for at least five years will receive P10,000 when she reaches the age of 90 and P10,000 every year thereafter until she turns 99.
The mayor said those already in their 90s during the program’s effectivity will receive P10,000 yearly for the remainder of the period before they turn 100.
On the other hand, Makati centenarians are already entitled to a P100,000 cash gift from the city government.
“Makati’s senior citizens are by far the most pampered among their peers in our country today. But this will not stop us from exploring more opportunities to make them happy, for it is always a pleasure to show them how grateful we are for their contributions to society during their heyday,” Binay bragged.
Data showed that over 82,000 elderly Makati residents enjoy their perks which include cash gift, unlimited entrance to free movies, free birthday and golden anniversary cakes, and free travel to popular spots and historical sites within Metro Manila and other parts of the country.
The local government has recently paid a total of P30.3 million to its five partner-cinemas for free movie tickets issued to its senior citizens and PWD residents from January to September this year.