CEBU City’s senior citizens can now heave a sigh of relief.
This after the Cebu City Council approved yesterday the P469-million additional budget the bulk of which will cover the allowances of the city’s elderly.
It was the first Supplemental Budget (SB) of 2018 requested by the executive department.
The SB was signed by acting City Treasurer Veronica Morelos and acting City Accountant Arlene Rentuza. Its ordinance was authored by Councilor Margarita Osmeña, chairperson of the committee on budget and appropriations.
Around P208 million or 44 percent of the entire budget was allocated to fund cash aids for over 10,000 senior citizens residing in Cebu City.
The SB also covers the cash grants for seven barangays including Barangay Buhisan (P8 million), Capitol Site (P8 million), Cogon-Ramos (P8 million), Kinasang-an (P8 million), Pahina Central (P8 million), Talamban (P10 million), and Tejero (P8 million) totalling P58 million.
During the budget hearing on May 23, Mrs. Osmeña revealed that the above villages have asked permission from the city government to use the cash grants that the Commission on Audit (COA) has disallowed in 2016.
But to do so, Osmeña said that officials from these barangays will need to submit their development plan detailing how they’re going to spend the financial assistance.
The city’s budget for this year is at P6.2 billion.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña has also asked to add P20.5M for the City Administrator’s Office, P15.2M for the Department of General Services, P8.8M for the Peace and Order Program, P10M for the City Health Department, P6M for the City Transportation Office, and P2.5M for the City Legal Office. /with STC Intern Candy Morr Baraga