- CHERYL G. CRUZ
Six Bacolod councilors are pushing for a social welfare assistance of P500 a month for one year to indigent senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disabilities in the city.
A social welfare monthly assistance program would help mitigate the hardships of the most seriously disadvantaged members of the community, said Councilor Em Legaspi Ang, main author of the proposed ordinance now being studied by the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Social Services, chaired by Councilor Simplicia Distrito.
Ang and co-author councilors Cindy Rojas, Israel Salanga, Renecito Novero, Lady Gles Pallen, and Ayesha Joy Villaflor filed the proposed ordinance at the sixth regular session of the SP Aug. 10, but Distrito asked for more time to study the proposal.
Hopefully, Distrito’s committee will have recommendations or inputs and the proposed ordinance could be tackled in this week’s session and approved on first reading, Ang said in an interview Friday.
Once approved on first reading, a public hearing will be scheduled so that other ideas can be solicited to further improve the provisions of the proposal to better implement the measure.
“To sustain the economic recovery of the City, it would be helpful to institutionalize such a program so that it may continue even after the cessation of the current state of calamity and help address future challenges to the wellbeing of the city’s poorest citizens,” Ang said.
Under the proposal, the target beneficiaries shall be specific categories of extremely poor senior citizens, solo parents, and PWD residents of Bacolod. “After the lapse of the 12-month period, the beneficiary may re-apply for re-inclusion in the program, and only one beneficiary per household shall be the recipient of the assistance.”
Any person, who misrepresents or falsifies any information or document to become a beneficiary, shall be penalized by a fine of up to 5,000, and/or up to six months imprisonment, at the discretion of the court, without prejudice to any applicable criminal liability under the Revised Penal Code or other relevant laws, the proposal stressed./CGC
