PRIORITY SECTOR A nurse injects a senior citizen with the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine at the Makati Coliseum. (INQUIRER file photo / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)
MANILA, Philippines — Senior citizens from the so-called ‘Embo’ barangays will no longer receive cash assistance from Makati city.
These communities used to belong to Makati and are now under the jurisdiction of Taguig city.
The announcement comes, after local government of Makati announced on Tuesday that elderlies from embo barangays who are “blu card” holders are not beneficiaries anymore of the fund starting January 1.
“Alinsunod sa desisyon ng Korte Suprema, ikinalulungkot naming ipaalam sa ating mga seniors mula sa 10 Embo barangays na blu card holders na simula January 1, 2024 ay wala ng bisa ang inyong blu card,” Makati city government said in a Facebook post.
(In accordance with the decision of Supreme Court, we regret to inform seniors from the 10 Embo barangays who are blue card holders that starting January 1, 2024, your blue cards are no longer effective.)
“Gayunpaman, maaari pa ring gamitin ng mga seniors ang kanilang Makatizen card bilang isang valid ID at debit card,” it added.
(However, seniors can still use their ‘Makatizen’ card as a valid ID and debit card.)
Under the blu card program, registered senior citizens from Makati receive cash incentives every June and December.
“For the mid-year, seniors 60-69 years old will receive P1,500; 70-79 years old, P2,000; 80-89 years old, P2,500; and 90-99 years old, P5,000,” read an article from the website of Makati.
Meanwhile, centenarians aged 101 and older will also get P5,000 as a mid-year cash incentive as long as they have been blu card holders for at least five years.
On Monday, Makati also released an advisory saying the ‘yellow card’ of residents in Embo barangays is also deemed invalid starting the first day of the new year.
Yellow card grants holders benefits such as free access to medicines, subsidized healthcare, and more.
In 2021, Supreme Court ruled that Embo and adjacent barangays are under Taguig’s jurisdiction.
Makati made an appeal in 2022 and it was denied by the High Court.