Makati seniors receive mid-year bonus

By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan

Wednesday 6th of June 2012

MAKATI CITY, June 6 (PIA) -- The local government released on Tuesday the first half of the cash gift for 52,482 senior citizens of Makati who are registered BLU Card members, including the additional stipend for those aged 70 years old and above.

In a statement, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay said that with the passage of City Ordinance No. 2012-017, the cash incentive for senior citizens 70 to 79 years old has been increased to P3,000, and to P4,000 for those who are 80 years old and above.

For beneficiaries aged 60 to 69, Binay said, they will still get the usual P2,000 cash gift.

Binay said the cash gift, given in two equal installments every June and December, is just one of the benefits being enjoyed by elderly residents of the city. Launched in December 2003, the program aims to provide timely financial assistance to senior citizens for their daily needs, such as food and medicine.

“As the elderly become more vulnerable to illness as they grow older, we saw it fit to increase the cash incentive being given to them to help augment their budget for their medical needs,” the mayor said.

For her part, Makati Social Welfare Department (MSWD) chief and acting City Administrator Marjorie De Veyra said the first batch of senior citizens to claim their mid-year bonus today are residents of Barangays Cembo, Valenzuela, San Lorenzo, Magallanes, and San Miguel Village.

De Veyra said the first batch of beneficiaries who have received their cash gift this June includes those with BLU Card applications filed on or before April 16, 2012, while the second batch, who will be eligible to receive their allowance in July and August this year, filed their applications from April 17 to June 30, 2012. (ICRD/RJB/JCP-PIA NCR)