AROUND 10,000 seniors citizens who registered as Cebu City voters from 2011 to 2013 will be included in the list of beneficiaries who are qualified to receive the P12,000 annual financial assistance from the City Government.

This is if outgoing Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña signs the amendment ordinance approved recently by the City Council, which seeks to include seniors who are registered voters in the city from 2011 to 2013 to the list of qualified beneficiaries of the aid.

There are some 75,000 seniors who receive P1,000 a month or a total of P12,000 a year from the City.

P1 billion

With the number of beneficiaries increasing to 85,000, the City would need at least P1 billion for the financial assistance.

Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr., who authored the amendment ordinance, said the 10,000 additional beneficiaries is just a rough estimate.

The Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs cannot provide yet the exact number of new beneficiaries since it still has to finalize its master list.

Section 5 of the amended City Ordinance 2453 provides that senior citizens who had been registered as voters with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from 2011 to 2013 will receive the financial aid.

Before City Ordinance 2453 was amended, only the elderly who registered as Cebu City voters in 2010 and prior years were eligible to receive the cash assistance. (RVC)