SENIOR CITIZENS PURCHASE BOOKLET MINGLANILLA-EDITION

PEOPLE CLIPART

Now that the new Head of OSCA sits at the office, senior citizens of Minglanilla are hoping for a happier three years ahead.  The new OSCA Head succeeds Miss Tarciana Prescillas, 84,  who was terminated by Mayor Pena after almost a decade of service.

The new apppointee Mam Claudeta V. Rubillos, is 21 years younger and  has been Mayor Selma's trusted  Secretary  for many years.  She hails from Barangay Tunghaan and walks by the nickname Claudette, meaning adventurous, goal-focused, efficient, determined, candid and stubborn - sometimes. WELCOME!

Why this happier three years ahead?

I love Minglanilla with its friendly and peace-inclined citizenry wonderfully generous to the Church and exceptionally patient to the State.  OKAY, my town is filthy rich in IRA, tax collection and other miscellaneous income and is moving towards cityhood.  These are the reasons why I want to see it take the first bold step among the Millionaire Municipalities of Cebu to give cash incentives, medical and burial assistance under the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.  

YES, senior citizens of Minglanilla enjoy free chows, prizes, donations and gifts  during the months of October and December.  Apart from these, however, the sencit tree is without flower and fruit.

What about this Purchase Booklet Minglanilla-Edition?

Since the 2005 Purchase Booklets for groceries were issued am counting no more than twenty senior citizens came back for re-issue.  Those who did, returned with a complain:  their booklet is good only for sardines, coffee, luncheon meat, detergent soap, etc.  It couldn’t buy them even  a discounted kilo of rice, some eggs, or fresh veggies which is wickedly true. .

No one in the Municipality then (not even Mam Tarcing) did maneuver for a solution.   And with R.A. No. 9994 now in effect, the furor could become even worst.   

The Purchase Booklet of Minglanilla has listed only the items under Section 2-a of Administrative Order No. 03 series of 2005 issued by the Department of Trade and Industry. Covered by this Section 2-a are grocery items  like:  sardines, coffee, luncheon meat, detergent soap, instant noodles, sugar, bread, tocino, etc.

But the items in Section 2-a of Administrative Order No. 37 series of 2005 issued by the Department of Agriculture  were missed.  These items are:  rice, corn, fish, eggs, pork, beef, poultry meat, veggies, root crops, fruits, onion, garlic, etc. –  HEALTH foods available from groceries and consumed by senior citizens day after day.

One solution has come - the NEW Purchase Booklet of R.A.# 9994

There are ways to solve the problematic Minglanilla-edition Purchase Booklet.  But printing and distributing instead the NEWLY DESIGNED PURCHASE BOOKLET of R.A. No. 9994 would be the best solution at minimum cost of five to seven pesos per booklet by RIZZO printing. The new Senior Citizen Purchase Booklet implements the maximum weekly purchase limit of P1,300 for 32 items, as follows:

Per Joint DTI-DA Administrative Order No. 10-02 series of 2010
A- Basic Necessities

Rice, corn, bread, fresh-dried-canned fish and other marine products, fresh pork-beef-poultry meat, eggs, fresh milk, processed milk, veggies, root crops, coffee, creamer, sugar, cooking oil, salt, powder-liquid-bar-detergent soap, firewood, charcoal and candles.

B- Prime Commodities

Fruits, flour, dried-processed-canned pork-beef-poultry meat, dairy products not falling under basic necessities, canned sardines, tuna, noodles, onions, garlic, geriatric diapers, herbicides, poultry –swine-cattle feeds, veterinary products for poultry-swine-cattle, nipa shingle, plyboard, construction nails, batteries, electrical supplies, light bulbs, and steel wire.

A sample of this NEW BOOKLET has been shown last year to cashiers of Gaisano Minglanilla. The ladies there find it easier and speedier to accomplish.  

Can the creative Mam Claudette expedite a solution?.

UPDATE SEP. 25, 2013

Thru the new OSCA Head the problem is now given priority.  It is estimated that the new Purchase Booklet will be issued to senior citizens on the 1st week of October or earlier.  Senior Citizens should be thankful to Mam Claudette for her fast action, the Staff who have supported her and her Bosses of course.

MY MID-NOON DREAM

The graphs herein on the current relationship between the Municipality of Minglanilla and the town’s Senior Citizens relative to the sublime purpose of RA#9994, may look outmoded.

But am presenting them for support, anyway.

Compared to millionaire Barangays who may have given the 1% (or more) of their IRA in support of RA#9994, Cebu’s top-rank Municipalities are still withholding the basic privileges under the law. But they seem to give more annually for the much younger women’s groups.

They have the means without the heart and awareness without guts. Around them are the agencies of government (DOJ, DECS, DA, DOTC, MOH, DILG, BIR, etc.) talking loud and clear to empower the senior citizens.

The Municipalities needed a push to get them to work.  With the support now of PBM Yayoy Alcoseba, Provincial Chairman of Senior Citizens(?), the Provincial Federation should now wake up and stretch its arms to set things on the fast lane.

My mid-noon dream is for my town, my Minglanilla to spearhead such call before it implements the pension scheme it envisioned for indigent seniors aged 75 up in 2014.  

As a start, it could implement at minimum expenditure Article 20, Section 4 of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act.  This would really make the majority senior citizens of the other age group happy, as well.

Cebu Province Top IRA Earners for 2013

          Consolacion at         P128,154,416

          Minglanilla at           P127,702,411

          Liloan at                     P113,888,492

          Balamban at              P111,849,928

For News on PBM Yayoy Alcoseba

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2013/07/28/pb-member-pushes-elderly-assistance-294871

MISS TARCIANA D. PRESCILLAS, MENTOR AND FRIEND

AFTER ALMOST A DECADE OF SERVICE TO SENIOR CITIZENS, MISS TARCIANA D. PRESCILLAS IS FINALLY OUT OF OFFICE!  WHO WILL BE THE NEXT HEAD OF OSCA?

WITH INTERNAL REVENUE ALLOCATION NOW AT PHP127,702,411.00 (2^nd HIGHEST IN CEBU PROVINCE) THE POSITION COULD PAY UP TO PHP15,000.00 A MONTH.

MANGHINAOT LANG KO NGA ANG SUNOD NGA OSCA HEAD MOPAKITAG LABOK UG PAGLABAN SA KATUNGOD SA TANANG TIGULANG (UG DILI ALANG RA SA MGA NAG-EDAD UG 75 ANYOS PATAAS UG SA MG INDIGENT LANG).  HINAOT USAB NGA KINI SIYA DILI MAHIMONG KIKO-KIKO LANG SA PUNDOK NGA SUKAD WALA PA MAKA-PAKITAG INTERES PAGSUPORTA SA AKTA REPUBLIKA 9994.

SALAMAT MAM PRES.

AN ERA ABOUT TO CLOSE

DIFFERENT FACES, SAME SHIRT

The Minglanilla Municipal Federation of Senior Citizens is a non-governmental organization composed of 19 barangay senior citizen chapters.  Incorporated in 2005, its membership has swelled to about four thousand today.  It is sharing office space with the Municipal OSCA Head at the ground floor of the old Municipal Hall Building next to the Bureau of Post.

Except for the OSCA Head who is the concurrent Treasurer of the Federation, it has no regular office personnel to do janitorial and all clerical office routines.  Because of this plus the irregular relationship with the local municipal government, plans and programs could not be implemented.  So far the best gifts that senior citizens have had from government are packs of goodies of slippers, liniment and rubbing alcohol, sardines and processed beef, reading glasses, with a fancy fan bearing photograph of the sponsoring politician.  Of course, local officials would dole out cash to pay for senior citizens group undertakings especially in Christmas and Valentines.

The Municipality of Minglanilla can accurately be described in just two words. – peaceful and rich.  Because of this, the town’s political leadership overstays so that Minglanilla has not experience a real change of power for many years.  Politicians just come, get re-elected, slide, take a vacation, come again for re-election until they are replaced by the nearest kin.  There is nothing more than a symptomatic relationship between the Federation and the Municipal Government.

Minglanilla is one of the richest lst class Municipality in Cebu Province with an IRA of P107 million pesos (2012 by Sunstar) plus additional earning of possibly P30million pesos more. But despite this significant figures, Municipal support for OSCA operations is P230 thousand pesos.  This figure however could not be confirmed up to 9/l9/2012 since no figures were shown on the GAD Accomplishment Report of Fiscal Year 2011 at the Full Disclosure Policy Bulletin Board under the folder Financial Assistance to the OSCA Operation (Facebook entry).

Within a period of one year almost a thousand Senior Citizens ID Cards were distributed and paid for by the Federation since the appropriate office stopped the supply of blank ID cards.  Since last year the Municipality has also stopped the supply of the much needed Senior Citizens Purchase Booklet to purchase the 16 basic commodities and the 16 prime commodities at discounted prices set under R.A. 9994.

In the absence of cash benefits and assistance, only 640 senior citizens could share moments of togetherness twice a year, enjoying free food.  The rest, some 200 to 300 of them, had to pay for their food rations through Federation funds.  The amount is taken from members’ annual dues, membership fees, penalties for new ID cards etc.   The collected amount from these sources could have become the Federation’s actual savings at the end of every fiscal year for other meaningful expenses. 

To be able to provide burial assistance to the members, the Federation maintains an in-house death fund paid for by members who wish to voluntarily participate in the program.  At P8,000 per member’s death, the sum could alleviate the financial problem the family would go through without such assistance.

SUDDENLY IN APRIL THIS YEAR, the Administration’s Campaign Bus, announces an offering of P500-pension for senior citizens in support of the Government’s Pension Program.  This offer confirms that Senior Citizens of Minglanilla are almost on their own – uncared and unloved for a long time.  That the offer is both sour and sad is captured in the following Facebook entry:

A PRE-ELECTION CLOSURE - IN A MEETING YESTERDAY (5/10 - 1pm) AT THE MULTI-PURPOSE CENTER, SOME 250 SENIOR CITIZENS WAITED THE ARRIVAL OF MAYOR TO BE LANIE PENA. DUE TO AN emergency, MR. ERIC PAGAR CAME IN HIS STEAD DELIVERING AN APOLOGY WITH TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS. THE FIRST WAS THAT THE P43,000 PLEDGED MONEY IS FINALLY UNDER PROCESSED. THE OTHER WAS BAD NEWS: ONLY 157 SENIOR CITIZENS COULD BE ENTITLED TO PENSION IN 2014. IN EZ ENGLISH IT MEANS WASTING MILLIONS OF PESOS TO BENEFIT A FEW WHILE CRUCIFYING THE MAJORITY OF SENIOR CITIZENS IN THIS TOWN.

MEANTIME, NOT A SINGLE SOUL FROM TEAM MARLO-LYNETTE SHOWED UP IN THAT SAME MEETING.

Thirty hours from now would be Election Day.  I hope this would end a difficult era for Senior Citizens in Minglanilla.

MERCY, NOT JUSTICE

Today is the Feast of the Divine Mercy.  And in his homily, FatherJoey Belcina of the Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish of Minglanilla, Cebu has had everyone ask the question - Will God ever pardon me my sins?  Father Joey had me believe to be unafraid, to trust  God’s Divinae Mesirecordiae – the font of infinite love and fathomless mercy.

Today’s feast reminds me of a friend who had a close call of death as he lay in the hospital bed reeling under the effects of medicinal drugs.  Writing about it in his Blog, he claims to have heard a voice saying  “It is My mercy, not My Justice”.

I have known this man to be a Christian Activist, a dog after his tail.  A lost brother for  two decades, I found him now enlightened, deserving to be among  “those much-needed Johns and Janes to help, in any way, the Mother Church to shape up, or else, ship out.”

You should not miss his Blog at:

http://johnpaulrice.blogspot.com/

and scroll down to Blog Archieve of February 2013 with this title:
HIS MERCY, NOT HIS JUSTICE

My Father Joey

Innocent and True

I came early to office that day and my officemate the ever beautiful Tarsing was already at her desk chatting with some elderly.  I did my usual katahoran saying maayong buntag and how are you to everybody including this elegantly-dressed child of four.

I took my seat and immediately uncovered the typewriter so as to start issuing I.D. cards for the new applicants who came early that morning to avoid the  rush hours.

Then the Lola talked freely and proudly about her clever and wonderful Apo.

Lola:  Apo, what is your name?

Apo:  My name is J.R.

Lola:  How old are you?

J.R.:  I am four years old.

Lola:  Where do you study?

J.R.:  At the Day Care Center.

Lola:  Who is your teacher?

J.R.:  My teacher is Mam Amor.

Lola:  Where do you live?

J.R.:  I live in Minglanilla, Cebu.

Lola:  Who is your Father?

J.R.:  Father Joey.

Everyone in the room got so excited and laughed  at the little boy’s prompt and innocent response!   

The boy's Mother is a single-Mom and he has not met his wayward Father kay nalumos lagi sa sabaw.

He is fond of Father Joey that he never misses kissing his hands right after the Children's Mass on Sundays.

TEMPORARY NOTICE

PAGHANDUM SA KAMATAYON SA KRISTONG JESUS

USA KA TAWHANONG HALAD SA IKA-UPAT NA KA TUIG

KARON.  ANG

ONLY IN MINGLANILLA

A Bee at the Main Plaza de Minglanilla

Am proud of my hometown Minglanilla.  It has a Bee in the plaza, a Gothic-inspired church edifice and a modernist municipal hall.  At over 150-million pesos revenue, it is a legitimate candidate for cityhood.

Minglanilla is known as the Sugat Capital but which is no longer the case today.  Sugat, which literally means the meeting of the Risen Christ and the Sorrowful Mother, has evolved into a mole in the tourism-inspired Lenten festivities of my town called the Kabanhawan Festival.

A blob Municipal Building

My hometown never fails to make it on and off the headlines.  Early last year it was possessed by a scandal involving el padre y la bella mujer.  And in July, a local paper reported that undefeated Mayor Selma is giving up politics in 2013!

Minglanilla is still that place where one could take a ride at the middle of the highway.  Pedestrians here are forced to play tubig-tubig (an indigenous game) with buses, multi-cabs, and pedicabs.  Vendors and habal-habals (illegal means of transport) are lining-up the main thoroughfares narrowing down the streets.   

A light-traffic situation at the town center

For whatever reason, traffic lights installed just late last year have been perpetually(?) turned-off. And only six enforcers are left of what used to be the Minglanilla Traffic Commission.  The coming solutions are the completion of a multi-million-peso public market and the diversion road still in the sky somewhere.

Church-goers in Minglanilla could be late for Mass even if they do come early to Church but not because of traffic.  Local Church time, as claimed, is ahead of standard time and that there are also days that Masses are started earlier than the Church's time. 

A Church with Gothic-elements

Worried about her condition, a lady told me that she raised this point to a member of the Team of Pastors and was told well, this is our time - (and you just have to follow it would be just as logical). 

So my advice was for her to come thirty minutes before the scheduled Mass time and to bring along a packet of biscuits if she desires Communion. This is because anyone going early to Church fasting could become really hungry after an hour of Mass, reaching home thirty minutes because of traffic.

Church Canon 919 commands Catholics to ABSTAIN from any food or drink, with the exception only of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before receiving the Holy Eucharist.  It is a mortal sin to deliberately break the pre-communion fast.   

Minglanilla is unique in many ways political and spiritual.  But rest assured, politicians here are sweating it out peacefully this election and the cinco padres are enjoying the serene atmosphere of media for now. 

R.A. NO. 9994 - NEW SENIOR CITIZEN PURCHASE BOOKLET AND I.D. CARD

R.A. 9994 is good news to Senior Citizens of the Philippines.  Now in full effect, the Expanded Senior Citizen Act of 2010 not only gives more benefits and coverage but it also brought in a new-look Purchase Booklet and I.D. Card.

Noticeable benefits under R.A. No. 994

-A Filipino who is a “dual citizen” may now apply for a senior citizen I.D. card;

-Both the 20% discount and PhilHealth benefits can apply during hospitalization or in seeking for medical services.

-Purchase of Vitamins and minerals specifically prescribed by an attending physician are now subject to 20% discount.  Food supplements remain excluded.

-Indigent senior citizens may now enjoy a free pneumoccocal and influenza vaccination.

-Indigent senior citizens may also receive pensions between P350 to P500, as well as, burial assistance of up to P2,000.

-Senior Citizens may now enjoy a 5% discount on electric consumption not exceeding 100 kw hrs and water consumption not exceeding 30 cu.m.

-Bigger discount of up to 50% (as institutional support) is also available to senior citizens centers and residential group homes for electricity, water and telephone charges.

-Except for the cost of memorial lot and obituary publication, a 20% discount applies to burial services.

New-Look Identification Card

The approved format of the new senior citizen identification card (RA No. 9994) is available for download at:

www.dswd.gov.ph

Advocacy

National Coordinating and Monitoring Board

Download Resources

Administrative Orders, Memorandum Circulars & Other Resources

New Senior Citizen ID Card Template

Sample ID Card for approval, may look like this.  This design is in  compliance to the approved NCMB template.

ID FACE

ID BACK

The New Purchase Booklet

The new senior citizen purchase booklet is a real bundle of joy.  Although fewer in pages, it could last for over a year of proper use with more personal items on line for consumption and enjoyment by senior citizens, such as:

BASIC NECESSITIES

1 –Rice                                                     

2 –Corn                                             

3 –Bread in any shape and name, excluding pastries and cakes

4 –Fresh, dried and canned fish and other Marine products       

5 –Fresh Pork/Beef and Poultry Meat     

6 –Fresh Eggs                    

7 –Fresh & Processed Milk           

8 –Fresh Vegetables/ Root crops    

9 –Coffee and Coffee creamer              

10 –Sugar         

11 –Cooking Oil

12 –Salt

13 –Powdered, Liquid, Bar, Laundry and Detergent soap

14 –Firewood

15 –Charcoal

16 –Candles

PRIME COMMODITIES

1 –Fresh Fruits           

2 –Flour                                    

3 –Dried, Processed and Canned Pork, Beef and Poultry meat

4 –Dairy products not falling under Section (A2) above

5 –Canned sardines, Tuna     

6 –Noodles

7 –Onions

8 –Garlic

9 –Geriatric Diapers

10 –Herbicides

11 -Poultry, Swine and Cattle Feeds

12 –Veterinary Products for Poultry, Swine and Cattle

13 –Nipa, Shingle, Plyboard and construction nails

14 -Batteries

15 –Electrical supplies and Light Bulbs 

16–Steel Wire

The approved design of the new purchase booklet (RA No. 9994) may be downloaded as follows:

On a Google search window, type:

Download new senior citizen purchase booklet 1.71 mb

Click on:  2 – Download Resources for:  ncmb.dswd.gov.ph/index

Scroll down until you find

Approved Template of DTI’s Senior Citizen Purchase Booklet for Basic

Necessities and Prime Commodities, Joint DTI-DA Administrative Order

No. 10-02, Series of 2010

Sample purchase booklet for approval, may look like this.  This design is in compliance to the DTI template.

Booklet Cover Pages

1st and Last Pages