By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff reporter
Batac
City—The Sangguniang Panlungsod-approved
death and burial assistance ordinance was disapproved by Batac Mayor Jeffrey
Jubal C. Nalupta.
Batac Vice Mayor and council
presiding officer Ronald Allan M. Nalupta expressed surprise to the
disapproval.
The ordinance, officially
tabbed as City Ordinance No. 3, SP 2015-o1 was supposed to grant a P3,000 death
and burial assistance to this city’s qualified senior citizens.
“Maladingitan tayo appo ngem isu met iti desisyon ni apo mayor tayo a
saan nga agtuloy daytoy,” the vice mayor said.
Mr. Nalupta related that the
measure was formulated during last year’s Christmas program for senior citizens
in the city. It was during this occasion, he said, when Mayor Nalupta stressed
that the existing P1,000 death and burial assistance for senior citizens is
“too small.” The mayor then requested the council to amend the ordinance.
The main author of the
amended ordinance is Batac councilor Avelard Ibarra Crisostomo with the vice
mayor and ex-officio member Batac Liga ng mga Barangay president Johann
Emmanuel “Jack” C. Nalupta as one of the co-authors
The ordinance was unanimously
approved by members of the council.
Vice Mayor Nalupta stressed
that the council would not have passed the said ordinance if the mayor had not
requested it.
The
Ilocos Times tried to get the reaction of
Mayor Nalupta but he was out of the country as of press time.
In its notice of disapproval
the mayor listed the following reasons:
1. Consideration is 200%
increase which is staggering. Did you have actual/historical date of number of
deaths 60 years and above in the last 3 years?
2. You completely changed
definition of a “qualified senior citizen” vis-à-vis Ordinance NO. 16 s. 2006 which
is to include all regardless of economic status.
3. Main body of Ordinance #16
s.2006 copied almost the letter. You could just have amended the amount. Where
is difference to original sponsors?
4. Better give to the living
than to the dead.
Meanwhile, Batac councilor
Florencio Laud who also approved the ordinance said that the original ordinance
should only been amended but it was totally changed.
The question according to Mr.
Laud was the phrase “qualified senior citizens” wherein the words in the first
ordinance means senior citizens must be indigents only but the new ordinance
now states that regardless of their economic status the assistance will be
granted.
The councilor then added that
it would be up to the mayor if the measure would be changed or re-entered.
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