New rules on cash gifts OK with seniors — Makati gov’t

The Makati City government maintained that majority of the leaders of Barangay Council of Senior Citizens (BCSC) chapters support the measures introduced by Mayor Abby Binay to tighten the procedures governing the release of cash gifts to elderly residents.

“In my 11 years as a senior citizen, this is the most organized process for receiving the cash gifts under the ‘Blu Card,’” BCSC-Barangay Pinagkaisahan chair Fely Molina said, as quoted in a statement released by the City Hall on Tuesday.

The Blu Card is a benefit card granted by the city government to senior citizens that entitles them to biannual cash incentives ranging from P3,000 to P5,000.

On Sunday, three BCSC chapter chairs called the new rules “unreasonable” and called Binay “insensitive.”

The revised guidelines, for example, require the beneficiaries to claim the cash gifts in person, disallowing the option of sending proxies.

Molina said she was “101 percent OK” with the more rigorous disbursement process.

According to the statement, BCSC-Barangay Rizal chapter chair Estrellita Vallangca also agreed with the mayor’s initiative, noting how it facilitated the release of the cash incentives in her area in just two days.

The BCSC chapter chairs warned  that reverting to the old guidelines “would again open the use of authorization forms to abuse and misuse.”

Binay said the stricter guidelines would ensure that the cash  ends up in the hands of the beneficiaries. —Matthew Reysio-Cruz