The Makati City Council has approved an ordinance granting a yearly P10,000 cash gift for senior citizens aged 90 to 99 who have been Blu Card holders for at least five years.
“I am pleased to report that our newly-elected councilors have passed my proposal to give our senior citizens an incentive they truly deserve. We want inclusive progress for our Makatizens, and this is an acknowledgment of their contributions to our city,” Mayor Abigail Binay said.
City Ordinance No. 2019-A-023, which will take effect on July 30, grants the additional incentive for qualified senior citizens residing in Makati from ages 90 to 99, amending City Ordinance No. 2016-A-043. The cash gift will be distributed to them in two tranches: on or before July and on or before December.
Mayor Binay said qualified Blu Card holders who will celebrate their 90th birthday this year will be receiving a P5,000 year-end cash gift in December. They will continue to enjoy the said benefit until their 99th birthday.
Instead of the P10,000 cash incentive, qualified Blu Card holders will receive the P100,000 centenarian cash gift when they reach their 100th birthday.
Binay said under the new ordinance, qualified centenarians will continue to be given the P10,000 cash gift in two equal installments upon reaching 101 years of age, and every year thereafter for as long as they live.
Records of the Makati Social Welfare Department (MSWD) show that as of June 2019, there are around 2,096 Blu Card members in the age bracket of 90 to 99. To date, a total of 57 centenarians have received the P100,000 cash gift to date, with 32 of them during the administration of Mayor Abby.
The city chief executive said that the ordinance was supposed to be approved last year but opposition councilors not only delayed the approval of the 2019 budget but also did not approve the increase in cash gifts for Blu Card nonagenarians with at least five years of membership.
Meanwhile, the distribution of cash gifts to younger age groups of senior citizens will continue to be given in two equal installments, every July and December, as follows: ages 60 to 69, P3,000 yearly; 70-79, P4,000; and 80-89, P5,000.
Binay expressed optimism about fulfilling her pledge to uplift the lives of residents, owing to the strong cooperation of the Council’s majority bloc.
“With a fresh mandate and the support of the new Sangguniang Panlungsod, I am confident that we will be able to pass more projects and programs that will help promote inclusivity among Makatizens and provide the best kind of public service to them,” she said.
At present, over 84,000 elderly residents receive premium benefits from the city, including free medical services and hospitalization, free medicines, immunization, mobility aids, birthday cakes, and unlimited movie passes in Makati cinemas.
They are also pampered with free haircuts, spa services, and field trips to historical sites and popular spots within Metro Manila and in other parts of the country under the Lakbay Saya Project.
Also under the Blu Card program, the city government gives P3,000 burial assistance to the bereaved family when a member passes on.
Early this year, the Ospital ng Makati launched its Palliative and Hospice Care Program to provide special care to patients with chronic or terminal illnesses, including the elderly, and improve quality of life, as well as help their loved ones in taking care of them and coping with the emotional anguish of losing a family member.