MANILA, Philippines – Senior citizens, students, persons with disabilities, and single parents in Manila City are set to receive P500 monthly allowances soon after Isko Moreno signed on Thursday, July 25, two city ordinances setting out for its provision.

The ordinances will be in effect upon issuance, according to the Manila City Public Information Office.

What ordinances? Ordinance No. 8565 grants a P500 monetary allowance for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and solo parents who are residents of the City of Manila, while Ordinance No. 8564 provides for all qualified Grade 12 students enrolled in any public school in the City of Manila to receive the same amount monthly. 

Senior citizens would receive an ATM card each where their monthly assistance would be deposited. (FAST FACTS: What benefits are senior citizens entitled to?)

How to qualify: For the Grade 12 students to qualify, they must be of good standing, must be bona fide residents and registered voters in the City of Manila. If the student is not of legal age to be a registered voter, the parent or legal guardian must be a registered voter of Manila to qualify for the allowance.

Students may be disqualified from receiving their monthly financial assistance if they are dismissed from school before the end of the school year.

For senior citizens to qualify, they must be at least 60 years old, must be bona fide residents and registered voters of the City of Manila, and must be included in the master list of the Manila Office of Senior Citizens Affairs.

Persons with disability and solo parents, meanwhile, must be bona fide residents and registered voters in the City of Manila. They must also be included in the master list of the Manila Department of Social Welfare.

The council delivers: Moreno, who was also a former vice mayor, noted that the passage and signing of the two ordinances are one of the fastest in Manila’s history. 

Moreno enjoys the support of the majority of the council and the vice mayor who presides over it, his campaign partner Honey Lacuna. (READ: Isko Moreno: From the slums of Tondo to Manila’s throne)

The ordinances were signed in a ceremony inside the historic Bulawagang Katipunan of the Manila City Hall, with Lacuna standing at the right of Moreno and councilors surrounding them.

The signing was a victory for Moreno’s agenda of renewing Manila, with the promise of a so-called social amelioration program, which supports the welfare of senior citizens and students in Manila. – Rappler.com