Senior citzens, barangay workers or solo parents?
The Cebu city government has to first meet its obligation to release the full annual assistance for senior citizens and barangay workers before making a new commitment to release P5, 000 cash to solo parents next year, said Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr.
“I don’t want to put the city in a bad light because financially, we cannot afford to pay them all considering that there are more solo parents compared to senior citizens,” said Gabuya.
Gabuya said this was his reason for abstaining in the vote for the Solo Parents Ordinance during the July 16 session.
“We’re already having a difficult time already paying senior citizens, barangay workers, daycare workers and others. How much more, the solo parents,” he told Cebu Daily News.
There are 60,000 registered senior citizens in Cebu City. An initial 1,000 solo parents have signed up with the social welfare department.
The 2014 annual budget provides for P12,000 assistance for each registered senior citizen in Cebu City.
However, Mayor Michael Rama said in an earlier interview that City Hall may only be able to release P6,000 in cash and give non-cash benefits for the other P6,000.
So far this year City Hall released P5,000 to senior citizens of which P2, 000 was the balance of last year’s assistance. Mayor Rama plans to time the release of another P3,000 cash for Christmas.
Nine of 12 BO-PK councilors voted to override the mayor’s veto of the Solo Parents Ordinance.
Councilors Gabuya and Noel Wenceslao abstained while Nida Cabrera was out of the country during the council’s July 16 session.
Four Team Rama allies — Mary Ann delos Santos, James Cuenco, Hans Abella and Philip Zafra — voted against the ordinance while Councilor Dave Tumulak was out of the hall during the voting.
Rama said he plans to go to court and file a petition for declaratory relief, which is a civil action that spells out the rights and obligations of parties in a dispute.
“I have the discretion to implement the (solo parents) ordinance. But let it be settled first legally,” said the mayor.
Councilor Gerardo Carillo, author of the Solo Parents Ordinance, welcomed Rama’s plan to seek court intervention, which he agreed “would enrich jurisprudence.”
He warned that the mayor could face an administrative complaint if he refuses to implement the new ordinance.
“It’s really up to him. The ordinance is there. We would be guilty of inaction if he doesn’t implement it. That would be tantamount to grave abuse,” Carillo told CDN.
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