About 14,000 registered senior citizens in Dumaguete City wanted clarification on the intention of the Sangguniang Panlungsod to reduce the burial assistance, from P5,000 to P2,500, under Resolution No. 392. A public hearing will be held today to thresh out issues regarding the proposal, even as the Office of the City Mayor is in a quandary on how to implement the same without being entangled with the auditing rules and procedures, considering that since time immemorial, the burial assistance amounts to P5,000. In a letter to the SP, Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria said he wanted to clarify things with the councilors, and stressed that a mere resolution has no amendatory effect to the approved 2016 budget of around P645 million, with P3.5 million appropriated as burial assistance for senior citizens, at P5,000 for every beneficiary. Continue reading... I really don't think that burial is the way to go on an overly populated island nation. Land is scarce and expensive. Cremation should be mandatory and burials should optional and come at a very high price.
