Makati City seniors to get advance mid-year cash gift, food packs

Makati City Mayor Abby Binay. INQUIRER.net file photo / Noy Morcoso

MANILA, Philippines — The senior citizens of Makati City can expect the early release of their mid-year cash gift, as well as food packs that will be delivered directly to their homes, the local government unit (LGU) said Tuesday.

In a statement, Makati Mayor Abby Binay said that both the food packs and cash  gifts of the city’s estimated 78,262 senior citizens, under the Blu Card program, will be delivered to their homes starting April 1.

The mid-year cash gift was scheduled to be given in June.

Those 60 to 69 years old will receive P1,500, while citizens aged 70 to 79 years old will get P2,000. People aged from 80 to 89 years old, meanwhile, will get P2,500.

Under the Blu Card program, senior citizens usually receive P3,000 a year, with the second half given in December. Senior citizens aged 70 to 79 receive P4,000 yearly, while 80 to 89-year-old citizens get P5,000 annually.

Binay said that the move was the LGU’s way of “easing the anxiety” of its senior citizens amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis.

Currently, there are 2,084 cases of COVID-19 in the country, of which 88 have died while 49 managed to recover.

“We ask our Blu Cardmembers to stay home so they will surely be around to receive their allowance and food packs,” Binay said.

“By advancing this benefit, we aim to give them the means to help out with household expenditures, especially for those whose breadwinners are daily wage earners,” the mayor added.

Previously, the local government provided financial assistance and food packs to the city’s 13,000 registered persons with disabilities (PWD), 2,000 solo parents and over 6,800 tricycle and jeepney drivers.

Edited by JPV