Senior folks hit Mt Prov board members over pay

By Gina Dizon

BONTOC, Mountain Province - Giving less than the mandated “one day pay” by officials of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan here prompted senior citizens of Mountain Province to appear before SP officials to reconsider their (SP) understanding of the Senior Citizens Code.

Board members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan have a daily pay of P4,690 and 5,387 for the vice governor with the Sangguniang Kabataan provincial representative receiving P1,801 per day, treasury records indicate.

On said appearance with other senior citizens before the SP officials last Nov. 5, provincial senior citizens representative lawyer Florence Taguiba and president of the Bontoc Municipal Senior Citizens Association of the Philippines said “the intention of the incumbent elective officials to offer less than the mandated one-day pay does not have  any legal bases but a demonstration of a preference of personal interest above the public interest - which refers to the proper implementation of the law regardless of whether personal finances are affected or not.”  

Taguiba then acted as provincial governor during the senior citizens officer for a day (SCOFAD) here Oct. 29.

Pursuant to section 8 of the Provincial Ordinance No 104 or the Senior Citizens Code, funding for purposes of the senior citizens special day where senior citizens shall act as senior citizens officer for a day (SCOFAD) in all elective and appointive posts of department heads in the province  shall be sourced from the one day pay of officials and  department heads of the Provincial Government.

Provincial senior citizens acted as officers of the day on October 29,2019 under the offices of the governor and Sangguniang Panlalawigan in celebration of Senior Citizens Week on October as Elderly Filipino Week under Presidential Proclamation Number 470.  

Following the ordinance, Provincial Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan Jr issued a memorandum on October 16, 2019 to Provincial treasurer Cawed Gamonnac the “deduction of one day pay” from the Provincial elective officials on the conduct of SCOFAD on October 29 at the offices of the Provincial Governor and Sanguniang Panlalawigan.  

On said appearance of senior citizens at the office of the SP, Board member for District 1 Janice Barillo said the SP shall be coordinating with the office of the Treasurer on the matter presented by the senior citizens.

In an interview with SP’s Senior Citizens committee chairman Salvador Dalang said the one day pay needs to be clarified if it includes benefits as deductions on Pag-ibig fees and taxes. Dalang is one of the signatories to Provincial Ordinance 104 then enacted in 2011. Otherwise, the law needs to be amended, Dalang said.  

Former SP board member for District 1 Florence Taguiba in a separate interview said the Ordinance was implemented from 2013 to 2016 with the full one day pay as deducted from then officials’ one day pay under the leadership of then provincial governor Leonard Mayaen and then vice governor Bonifacio Lacwasan Jr.

It was known however that the previous years from 2017 onwards led by incumbent vice governor Francis Tauli gave P1,000 each to then SCOFADs.   

Board members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan have a daily pay of P4,690 and 5,387 for the vice governor with the Sangguniang Kabataan provincial representative receiving P1,801 per day, treasury records indicate.

Each board member including the SK Rep gave P1,500 and the vice governor the amount of  P2,000 per day as SCOFAD incentive for this year 2019 but the amounts returned with the senior citizens seeking for reconsideration of the SP’s understanding on what “one day pay” means as provided by Provincial Ordinance 104.