Down to policy: Isko Moreno’s help for Manila’s disadvantaged

Rambo Talabong

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Down to policy: Isko Moreno’s help for Manila’s disadvantaged
Beyond bold statements, here are policies signed by Manila Mayor Isko Moreno for the benefit of students, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and solo parents

MANILA, Philippines – Just two months into leading the capital, Isko Moreno has seen developments in one of his main thrusts: his social amelioration program.

The phrase may sound deep, but it refers to Moreno’s social services program, which he targets to benefit children, teens, students, the elderly, and persons with disability (PWDs).

The target beneficiaries, according to Moreno, are the ones who need the government’s help the most. Everyone between them “are working already, and have their own issues.”

During his Rappler Talk before clinching the mayoralty, Moreno said the program was inspired and informed by his time as an undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

“I saw there these great scientific studies that can make it possible [for social service programs] to not be reduced into dole-outs,” Moreno said.

To help these strands of Manila, Moreno said in his campaign that he would craft a set of laws for their benefit. It would come easy, as Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna, and the majority of the councilors are allied with him.

We keep track of Moreno’s promise to the disadvantaged in the deteriorated capital he seeks to renew, setting aside the grand statements to focus on signed policies.

What Manila has

As of August 25, 2019, Moreno and his administration have accomplished the following:

1. P500 monthly for grade 12 students

What policy: Ordinance No. 8564
Date enacted: July 22, 2019
Implementation date: January 2020
Benefit: P500 monthly allowance from the local government
Beneficiaries: Public school grade 12 students in “good standing”  

Requirements from beneficiaries:

    • Manila City voter
    • If not a voter, at least one parent or guardian must be a Manila voter
    • No citations, disciplinary records, or history of probation

2. P500 monthly for senior citizens, PWDs, and single parents

What policy: Ordinance No. 8565
Date enacted: July 22, 2019
Implementation date: January 2020
Benefit: P500 monthly allowance from the local government
Beneficiaries: Manila senior citizens, PWDs, and single parents
Requirements from beneficiaries:

Senior Citizens

      • At least 60 years old
      • Manila City voter
      • Inclusion in the master list of the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs of the City of Manila

Persons with disability and solo parents

      • Manila City voter
      • Inclusion in the master list of the Manila Department of Social Welfare Office

3. P1,000 monthly for students in Manila City-funded colleges

What policy: Ordinance No. 8568
Date enacted: July 29, 2019
Implementation date: January 2020
Benefit: P1,000 monthly allowance from the local government
Beneficiaries: Universidad de Manila and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila students “in good standing”
Requirements from beneficiaries:

    • Manila City voter
    • If not a voter, at least one parent or guardian must be a Manila voter
    • No citations, disciplinary records, or history of probation

4. Employment in fast food chains for senior citizens, and PWDs

What policy: Memorandum of Agreement with Jollibee, Chowking, Mang Inasal, and Greenwich
Date signed: August 23, 2019
Benefit: Contractual employment of at least 2 senior citizens and 1 PWD for each fast-food restaurant chain
Beneficiaries: Manila senior citizens
Requirements from beneficiaries:

Senior citizens

      • At least 60 years old
      • Physical, medical, and laboratory examinations and certification as “fit to work” from the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center
      • Application documents for the fast-food restaurant: 
      • Recommendation from the Manila Public Employment Services Office
      • Resume
      • Medical certification
      • Hospital test results
      • Mayor’s permit from the Manila Health Department
      • Barangay Certification
      • Police or National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance
      • Identification documents (birth certificate, senior citizen’s card)

PWDs

      • Deaf and mute
      • Physical, medical, and laboratory examinations and certification as “fit to work” from the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center
      • Application documents for the fast-food restaurant: 
      • Recommendation from the Manila Public Employment Services Office
      • Resume
      • Medical certification
      • Hospital test results
      • Mayor’s permit from the Manila Health Department
      • Barangay Certification
      • Police or NBI clearance
      • Identification documents (birth certificate, other IDs)

The biggest challenge

Manila Mayor Moreno has repeatedly said what they have done “is only the beginning.”

He wants to expand the student allowances to other grade levels, include other restaurants in employing seniors and PWDs, and even roll out a Marcos-inspired nutribun program for children.

But a problem stands in their way: budgeting.

Moreno estimates that the programs they have already passed would cost the government hundreds of millions. This impending expenses are factored with the mountain of debt left by the previous administration amounting to about P4.4 billion.

This budgeting challenge is the reason why the ordinances for allowances will take effect only in 2020, when they will expand their budget after inheriting a budget passed under his predecessor Joseph Estrada.

They hope to make through improving ease of doing business.

Aside from the ordinances for social welfare, Moreno has passed ordinances to decrease the taxes for business establishments to encourage them to set up shop in Manila.

More businesses in Manila means more tax collected for the local government.

He’s not certain this will work, but he said the local government should at least give it a chance.

“We really have to try, we really have to make extra effort, and I think we owe it to our commitment to the people of Manila,” Moreno said. – Rappler.com

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Rambo Talabong

Rambo Talabong covers the House of Representatives and local governments for Rappler. Prior to this, he covered security and crime. He was named Jaime V. Ongpin Fellow in 2019 for his reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. In 2021, he was selected as a journalism fellow by the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics.