Sunday, November 09, 2008 Delay in SRP negotiation means no cash gift yet for Cebu City’s elderly
THEY may be in the twilight of their lives, but they can wait.
So said newly appointed Cebu City Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (Osca) head Guillermo Casinillo, on Mayor
Tomas Osmeña’s promise to give cash gifts to the elderly.
“Naay nangutana nga 86 na raba kuno siya, kanus-a ihatag? Pero makahulat ra ang mga senior citizens kanus-a matuman ang gipasalig sa mayor (An 86-year-old asked me when the gift will be granted. But we are willing to wait until the mayor delivers on his promise),” Casinillo, 67, told Sun.Star Cebu.
The mayor again mentioned during his State of the City Address Saturday afternoon that the senior citizens will be the first to benefit from a sale at the South Road Properties (SRP).
He asked, however, for their understanding that his promise will not be fulfilled this year because of a delay in the negotiations.
Talks with at least two investors interested in buying portions of the 295-hectare property were supposed to have been completed this year. Filinvest Land Inc. has proposed to buy for P2 billion some 10 hectares of the SRP and enter into a joint venture with the City to develop 40 more hectares.
The mayor, a senior citizen himself since last July, said the cash gifts will be given next year to qualified senior citizens.
The cash gifts, P1,000 for their birthday and another P1,000 for Christmas, will distributed only to those who have Osca identification cards and those who are registered voters, Casinillo said.
The mayor does not want the elderly from other places registering in the city just to receive the amount.
Casinillo said they estimated the Cebu City elderly to number around 28,000, but the Osca is still purging its list of those who are not really from the city.
He said those qualified to receive may just only be around 25,000.
Though the mayor will not be able to fulfill his promise yet, the senior citizens will still receive a basket of goods each from the City Government.
Representatives of senior citizens, vendors, youth, the Muslim community and the city’s barangays congratulated the mayor after his State of the City Address, which earned 29 rounds of applause and a standing ovation.
Things will be different in his absence, but the city will still be able to function well. This was the common sentiment expressed by representatives of different sectors.
The crowd that filled up the entire Cebu City Coliseum rose to their feet to welcome the mayor, who had returned to Cebu from the United States only last Wednesday.
The mood did not dampen even as Osmeña announced that he is returning to the US Sunday for two to three months of medical treatment.
“I’m confident that this time, he can deliver on his promise,” Casinillo said in Cebuano. “Every time we meet, he never forgets to tell us not to worry (about it).”
Sakiran Hajan, Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA) 7 director, also agreed with the mayor’s address.
Osmeña said in his speech that in Cebu, there is no discrimination. “That’s true,” Hajan told Sun.Star Cebu. “The Muslim community has been treated really well. He (Osmeña) understands how to handle every sector.”
Osmeña stressed that his absence in the following months will serve as both an “opportunity” and a “rehearsal” to see how the city will function without its mayor. (RHM/KAB)
