ILIGAN City - Even though there is an ordinance to be given to the "poorest of the poor" there is "no specific funding" for it provided for in the budget.
This was the substance of the statement heard on the air of Councilor Providencio Abragan, Jr. presently the chair of the Committee on Senior Citizens of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
Although he is aware, he said, that per previous administration under city mayor Celso G. Regencia, of which the SP was then presided over by then Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz who was also the chair of the said committee there was that provision for such.
This is separate from the nationally funded pensions of senior citizens who are among the "poorest of the poor" it was learned.
Vera Cruz then had expressed his "love" for these seniors, hence this locally funded provision for them.
This was made known months before the schedule of the May 9 elections this year.
But it was learned that this year there are still thousands of these seniors who haven't received such as there was that election ban and the former administration was not able to process the exemptions thus, preventing them from giving these benefits to said seniors.
Abragan said that per meeting with the local finance committee here, which involved department heads from the accounting department and the budget there was "no budget" for the said matter. Although he added, they had come upon an item called "Donations" in the amount of P36 million, of which P18 million had already been spent.
It was then concluded that such item of "Donations" was the one being used for the senior citizens.
It should have been more specific, Abragan said but fell short of blaming the past administration for such a setup.
