Mayor Honey Lacuna called on the senior citizens of Manila to avoid altering their senior identification cards so as not to encounter any problems when presenting them for discount privileges, as she also announced that the current number of senior citizens in the city has now increased to 206,000.
Lacuna made the appeal after the Office of Senior Citizens’ Affairs (OSCA) headed by Atty. Elinor Jacinto received information from certain establishments that some elderly present IDs that are reproduced or mere scanned copies, in lieu of original IDs, giving rise to the possibility that said IDs are fake.
The mayor stressed that faking senior IDs is illegal and reproduction of the original IDs is also not allowed by the city government, as well as having them reduced to smaller versions.
Lacuna encouraged the senior citizens to avail of the OSCA services during the city’s regular ‘Kalinga sa Maynila’ which goes straight to barangays, where OSCA stalls entertain and process requests for new applications, renewal of IDs and requests for new purchase booklets, among others. The stalls even offer free lamination of IDs to protect them from being worn out easily.
Meanwhile, Jacinto clarified that the law signed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. granting additional cash benefits of P10,000 each for senior citizens who reach the age of 80, 85, 90 and 95 is not yet in effect and will become effective only next year.
According to Jacinto, the said incentive will be provided by the national government and that they city government is waiting for the corresponding implementing rules and regulations for the distribution of the said senior benefits.
Just the same, Lacuna said that the local government of Manila has been giving its own P100,000 cash incentive for senior citizens who reach the age of 100 years old, which she personally delivers to the homes of the centenarians.
