The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Bohol passed on third and final reading the proposed ordinance which seeks to amend an earlier ordinance providing benefits to Boholano senior citizens.
Significant amendments include the residency requirement for a senior citizen that needs to be complied with in order to avail himself/herself of the benefits.
Under the proposed ordinance, which is yet to be signed by Gov. Arthur Yap into a full-fledged local statute, a senior citizen must be a resident of Bohol for 3 years before he/she is eligible to avail himself/herself of the benefits.
In the earlier ordinance, the residency requirement is 5 years.
For centenarians, in order to avail themselves of the cash incentive, the documentary requirements have been amended in the proposed ordinance.
Under the proposed ordinance, any government-issued ID is now accepted as proof of the age of the centenarian who wishes to avail himself/herself of the cash incentive coming from the province. In the previous ordinance, there is a list of acceptable IDs.
Furthermore, an important section was added in the proposed ordinance wherein in the event the centenarian dies before the cash gift is awarded, the said incentive will be given to the legitimate spouse or legitimate and illegitimate children or legitimate and illegitimate grandchildren.
If the centenarian is childless, the order of succession will take effect, the reports say.
Meanwhile, the proposed ordinance provided the documentary requirements for legitimate claimants of the cash incentive for centenarians who die before getting the cash gift.
Moreover, a new member of the Centenarians Committee was added who is the Provincial Accountant, based on the proposed ordinance.
Likewise, the chair of the SP Committee on Social Services is now a co-chairperson and no longer the vice-chairperson of the Centenarians Committee.
The Centenarians Committee is the one that determines who are eligible to receive the cash incentives for Boholano centenarians.
The provincial government provides cash incentive of P100,000 on top of the cash gift provided by the national government, according to reports.
