The city government of Makati has started distributing the P1,000-mid-year cash gift to a total of 39,197 senior citizens of Makati who are registered BLU card holders.
Mayor Jejomar C. Binay said the cash gift, given every June and December, is among the many perks enjoyed by the city’s elderly residents. He said the program was launched in December 2003 to provide timely financial assistance to senior citizens for their daily needs, such as food and medicine.
“The city government has prioritized the allocation of the P2,000 annual cash gift for our senior citizens to help defray their day-to-day expenses, especially now that we have begun to feel the pinch of the global financial crisis,” Binay said.
Binay said the Cash Department has begun distributing the P1,000-cash gift to the first batch of qualified beneficiaries since Friday, June 8 until today in 11 barangays, and is set to distribute the rest of the total amount of P139,197,000 on scheduled dates in other barangays. The first batch consists of those whose applications for the BLU Card program were filed from June 2002 to April 15, 2009, which has made them eligible for the mid-year cash gift.
The release of the mid-year cash gift in the barangays is as follows: June18, Thursday- Barangays Sta. Cruz, South Cembo, Bangkal, San Antonio, Forbes Park, Urdaneta; June 19, Friday - Barangays Bel-Air, East Rembo, Singkamas, Rizal, Guadalupe Viejo; June 22, Monday – Barangays Guadalupe Nuevo, Magallanes, Dasmariñas, Cembo; June 23, Tuesday – Barangays Pio del Pilar, Comembo, Pembo; and June 24 – Barangays Olympia, Palanan, West Rembo and Poblacion.
Binay said the rest of eligible senior citizens or those who were issued their BLU Card from April 16, 2009 to June 30, 2009 will belong to the second batch, and their cash gift will be given this coming July and August, while those who file their BLU Card applications after the cut-off date, June 30, 2008, shall be entitled only to the year-end cash gift.
Makati Social Welfare Department (MSWD) chief Marjorie de Veyra said all senior citizens who will turn 60 must immediately file their application for the BLU card within five days after their birthday to qualify for the cash gift. Otherwise, they will only be entitled to the year-end cash gift in December, she said.
De Veyra added that in case a BLU Card holder is bedridden, disabled or confined in a hospital, an authorized representative whose name appears at the back of the BLU Card is allowed to claim the benefit on his or her behalf. Authorization forms are available at the MSWD office at the fifth floor, Makati City Hall. All authorization forms must be duly attested to by the Chapter Chair of the Federation of Makati Councils of Senior Citizens of their respective barangays, with the corresponding medical certificates attached.
De Veyra also said that BLU card holders or their designated representatives will be given two weeks after the distribution date in their respective barangays to claim the cash gifts at the 3rd floor, Cash Division of the New Building.
Meanwhile, senior citizens who are out-of-town or abroad during the distribution of the mid-year cash gift are not entitled to claim the said benefit, thus, authorizations presented by representatives will not be honored by the Cash Department, De Veyra said.
De Veyra clarified that the National ID card or the so-called “white card” or any senior citizens card will not be honored in claiming the mid-year bonus. Likewise, a BLU card will be confiscated or surrendered after claiming the cash gift and replaced with a new one if found in any of the following conditions: laminated without the signature of the holder; torn; ID no. is covered by photo of the holde; BLU card issued with no beneficiaries stated; and those with erasures or alterations.
Under the Makati BLU Card program for senior citizens launched in June 2002, the beneficiaries of a cardholder are given financial assistance of P3,000 upon his or her death.
Based on the records of the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA), Makati has around 50,000 senior citizens at present.
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