Last Tuesday the Davao City Council approved on the third and final reading the proposed ordinance increasing the once a year senior citizens cash subsidy. That is, from the previous P1,500 annually to P3,000 or a 100 percent increase.
While the amount is still too measly compared to the hike in the cost of basic commodities like medicine for the senior’s maintenance, still it can alleviate a little the burden of old age.
In other words the new amount of cash assistance for the senior citizens is much better than the previous P1,500 or none at all.
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Before the May 12, 2025 midterm election we had a talk with one of the city’s third district re-electionist councilors. The local legislator happened to drop by our family’s little cold snack center located in one of the barangays of Tugbok District.
The lady dad mentioned with a sense of pride several of her sponsored and finally approved ordinances which she claimed will benefit the people of Davao City.
For our part we gave her an idea that can be developed into an ordinance. The idea is for the city councilors to eventually relieve themselves of the many requests for financial assistance from families of their constituents who died.
We were referring to having the City Council institutionalize the so-called “dayong” or mortuary associations like the ones organized in rural villages. This mortuary assistance is now included as one of major services offered and professionally run by most established cooperatives.
We proposed to the lady dad to have her staff do some research to help fine-tune the “dayong” or mortuary organization’s operational system as well as find ways that the local government will be engaged in its operation including putting up a financial stake on the association.
In other words we suggested that the mortuary association shall be organized in every barangay in the city and that a seed money shall be put up by way of advancing remittance equivalent to one or two deaths. The city for its part shall set aside a budget where the local government’s counterpart can be charged.
And there has to be a cap as to the number of deaths that a duly certified member’s family fail to remit their due with which they can still avail of the financial assistance.
If an ordinance for this purpose will be approved and implemented then there is no doubt that all city councilors will not anymore be bothered by requests for burial assistance or the like every time there is death from among his or her constituents.
While we did not bring out the idea that membership of the mortuary association be made mandatory for each family, we did recommend that it be strongly encouraged. Moreover, we suggested to the lady local lawmaker that the city’s counterpart assistance be bigger than the due collectible from each family that suffered death of a legitimate member.
Whether the re-electionist, now reelected, councilor find our idea for an ordinance relevant and advantageous to the local lawmakers and the city in general, we have no idea. But we have observed that the lady dad from the third district appeared dumb founded.
We are hoping that she will pick it up from there.
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This one is for the books? No, but definitely for the P20 thousand cash incentive offered for the purpose.
Yes, we are referring to the news that was posted on Facebook about the 68-year old senior citizen in Lapu-lapu City, Cebu who had himself circumcised at that old age. Certainly the procedure was allowed by the “grand pa” not for what everyone has in mind. He is a bit old for that.
But the enticement of P20 thousand can do a lot for him and his immediate family. So, what’s the heck if the procedure made some doctor’s scissor dull!
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And here is another Facebook post made the other day that we could not unhook from our head. It is a quote from the late British World War 2 Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It was his claim of having stopped from wishing everyone in social or diplomatic gatherings more wealth and good health during the ceremonial toast. Instead the late British Prime Minister wanted everyone to have good luck during his toast.
He cited as reason the sinking of the Titanic. According to Churchill, there was no doubt that most, if not all, passengers of the ship “were wealthy and healthy. But few had the luck as only a small number of them were lucky enough to survive the sea disaster.”
