OFFICERS of the United Mabolo Elderly Organization (Umeo), together with Barangay Captain Daniel Francis Arguedo, have filed a petition for declaratory relief before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Cebu City, challenging two city ordinances concerning financial assistance for senior citizens.
The petition filed on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, asks the court to invalidate a rule prohibiting the use of authorization letters for claiming aid, arguing it harms bedridden seniors.
It also seeks to nullify a separate ordinance that changed the aid’s distribution from quarterly to monthly, which the group claims is inconvenient and was passed without a public hearing.
The petitioners, representing thousands of senior citizens in the city, named the City of Cebu and the Sangguniang Panlungsod as respondents.
At the core of the petition is a clause under Ordinance 2453, passed in 2016, which prohibits senior citizens from authorizing representatives to claim their P12,000 annual financial assistance.
The petitioners argue that this rule violates their rights under the Civil Code, which allows individuals to enter into a contract of agency, an arrangement where one person acts on another’s behalf.
“Many senior citizens are bedridden or can hardly walk. The outright disallowance of authorization deprives them of the right to convenience and safety,” the petition said.
Inconvenience
Elsa Medado, secretary of Umeo, said the restriction has caused significant hardship for many elderly residents.
“We were really inconvenienced because we were already used to receiving it quarterly. Actually, the P1,000 isn’t enough for their needs, especially for those who live far away and have to travel. They requested that, if possible, it be returned to a three-month schedule. That’s what we agreed on and (that’s) why we filed the petition,” Medado said.
She added that many senior citizens were turned away during the last aid distribution because the City refused to accept authorization letters.
Medado said several family members, such as grandchildren or children, went to claim the financial assistance on behalf of their elderly relatives who were sick and unable to go; but City Hall did not allow it since seniors were required to appear in person.
She appealed for the reinstatement of authorization letters, questioning, “Why was it allowed before, but not now?”
The petition also challenges Ordinance 2579, passed in 2020, which amended the earlier ordinance to make the P12,000 assistance payable monthly instead of quarterly.
The petitioners contend that the amendment was made without public hearing and did not explicitly repeal Section 10 of Ordinance 2453, which still mandates quarterly distribution.
They argue that monthly releases are impractical and burdensome for many elderly citizens, particularly those who are ill or live far from distribution centers.
“For lack of public hearing, the assailed ordinance (2579)was not implemented because of the resistance from senior citizens,” petitioners said.
The group noted that, except for the last release on Oct. 25, financial aid had always been distributed quarterly.
Umeo officers also submitted a petition signed by 1,008 senior citizens urging the City to retain the quarterly release schedule, along with social media posts showing widespread opposition to the new rules.
Ordinances
Mayor Nestor Archival has maintained that the City is simply implementing what the law requires.
Archival said the ordinance clearly mandates a monthly distribution, so there was no need for a public hearing on the matter.
“The law says it should be given every month and I don’t think there’s any problem with that,” Archival said.
On the issue of authorization letters, Archival said his office has allowed exemptions in certain cases.
He explained that if someone makes a request to his office, he grants approval without need to bring the matter to court.
The mayor also pointed out that the restriction aims to prevent abuse of the senior citizens’ program.
Archival said there had been many cases where authorization letters were misused by people who were not entitled to receive financial assistance.
He said information surfaced showing that for many years, some ineligible individuals were never removed from the list.
“There are even some from other municipalities or islands who registered in our city and were able to get assistance, which puts the City at a disadvantage,” Archival said.
He said the monthly release schedule could help the City to better track legitimate beneficiaries and gradually remove ineligible recipients.
The petitioners are asking the court to declare Paragraph 3, Section 8, Phase II of Ordinance 2453, which disallows authorization, as invalid for violating the Civil Code.
They also seek to uphold Section 10 of the same ordinance, which provides for quarterly distribution, as the legally binding rule.
They said a court ruling is necessary to “forestall multiple disputes and complaints” since the conflicting ordinances directly affect thousands of senior citizens in Cebu City.
The case is awaiting the raffle to determine which branch of RTC Cebu City will hear it. / CAV