Majority bloc amends 2019 Makati budget

REGULAR SESSION Makati councilors are expected to meet today to deliberate on the 2019 city budget.

Majority councilors have proposed amendments to the long-delayed 2019 Makati City budget of P18 billion that will benefit elderly residents while crippling a youth program.

During last week’s regular session, 12 of the 17 councilors slashed P76.8 million from the proposed budget for the hiring of beneficiaries under the Government Internship Program (GIP) and Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES).

Should the budget cut be approved on final reading in today’s regular session, the over 7,300 beneficiaries of the city’s youth employment programs would be reduced to just 1,000.

The GIP and SPES are under Makati City’s Public Employment Service Office. GIP beneficiaries receive P9,600 for 25 days of work in any of the city offices while those under SPES are paid P15,360 for one month of work.

Councilor King Yabut, the majority floor leader, said the budget cut would be implemented only this year “to prevent the programs from being used in politicking.”

The majority councilors also raised the allocation for senior citizens’ cash incentives, from P330 million to P415 million. The amount would cover the Blu Card and cash gift benefits.