IN DAVAO City, all senior citizens are agog with the report that the ordinance adjusting the annual subsidy – or call it assistance – to this sector of the population from P1,500 a year to P3,000 annually. This is an increase of 100 percent to the current amount given to senior citizens annually.
We are just wondering why the local government of Davao City gives only this pittance of an amount when, in fact, it can very well afford a much bigger cash assistance to the senior citizens if it wants to. Remember that our city has a budget of roughly 15 billion pesos, an amount where the subsidy can be taken without depriving other services.
In fact, Cebu City in the Visayas is giving its senior citizens a monthly subsidy of P1,000 or P12,000 a year released every quarter. The same amount is also given to seniors in Lapu-lapu City.
And here we are boasting a “debtless” local government unit – meaning our coffer is awash with cash. Yet, the city government can only go up to P3,000 as subsidy for an entire year. The declared objective of the granting of the subsidy is to help the senior citizens tide over their maintenance medicine requirement.
But how many tablets of say, Lozartan, Amlodipine and bone strength-enhancing vitamins would a P250 per month or a little over P8 a day can buy?
Yes, compared to the more than P200 million budget allocated for capability building, cost of supplies, venues and possibly “honoraria” for supposed resource persons, the total budget for the subsidy of senior could only be a minuscule of an amount. In fact, over five years ago, the city government even set aside several millions of pesos to procure large and heavy-duty plastic garbage bins delivered to barangay recipients only to be piled up in some corners of the compounds of barangay halls until now.
Clearly, it was a waste of the people’s money for a project that is bound to be drowned by the controversies of some other later projects of the city government one of which is the completed Catalunan Grande-Tacunan 15 or so meter bridge.
The project which we are certain to have cost the city (if it is a local government-funded concrete bridge) several millions of pesos. It remains unutilized because it was not provided with an approach at the Tacunan end. Possibly, the government proceeded to construct the concrete span even without acquiring a road-right-of-way for the approach.
How could the city – again if it is the city’s – afford to spend millions for a project that has been a “white elephant” for the last 5 or so years while feigning difficulty in sourcing for money to fund the additional P1,500 in subsidy for the seniors?
Of course, we have an idea for the possible answer to the question propounded herein. But still we are hoping to be wrong.
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This one is another welcome project by the City Government of Davao.
We mean the installation of Internet Centers for the Public, a project approved through an Ordinance. So far, we have no idea where the Internet Center will be set up in the city. But we are certain these will be located in various strategic locations where many of the residents will be headed to when they intend to use this modern tool for transmitting messages.
While we believe that the project is long overdue, especially in a large city, we still think this is one of the most welcome projects especially by the younger population. Besides, there are a number of places in the rural communities that are not reached by the signals of existing telecommunications companies. But with the availability of Internet services and the many platforms provided by telecommunications firms like Messenger, communicating with anyone is very much easier now.
This latter project and the increased subsidy for senior citizens are two most welcome ”gifts” that the outgoing City Council has given the Davaoeños. With only two or three new faces added in the incoming local legislative body we can be certain that it will have the same, if not stronger, enthusiasm in finding the appropriate ordinances in the next three years.
We hope we are not mistaken.
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