DUE BENEFITS. National Commission of Seniors Citizens Commissioner Edwin Espejo briefs the heads of the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) in Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions in Cagayan de Oro City on the ongoing programs of the agency on Tuesday (April 5, 2022). The NCSC has appealed to local government units to follow the mandated honoraria for OSCA heads. (Photo courtesy of Allen Estabillo)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) is appealing to local government units (LGUs) Tuesday to properly grant the honoraria due to the heads of their respective senior citizens' offices.
In a statement, NCSC Commissioner Edwin Espejo issued the appeal amid concerns from several designated heads of the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) in parts of Northern Mindanao.
The concern stemmed from reports reaching NCSC that some LGUs had not fully complied with the mandated honoraria, which is equivalent to Salary Grade (SG) 10.
Some OSCA heads in the area are reportedly receiving only PHP2,000 a month from their LGUs as honorarium, way below the PHP22,190 pay rate.
“That’s a legitimate concern of the OSCAs that needs to be addressed,” Espejo said in a meeting Tuesday with selected OSCA heads and officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Northern Mindanao (DSWD-10).
The honoraria grant equivalent to SG-10 is provided for in Republic Act (RA) 9994 or the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010,” which mandates local legislative councils to institutionalize the compensation for OSCA heads.
Necitasio Abarquez, OSCA head of Pangantucan town in Bukidnon, noted that LGUs in the area have been implementing different honoraria rates, depending on the budget allotted by the mayors.
Most city and municipal councils in the region have failed to come up with the needed legislation even as the law was passed 10 years ago, Abarquez said.
“The rates depend mainly on the mayors,” he added.
The Bukidnon Federation of Senior Citizens Association Inc. and OSCA League have raised such concerns as early as 2018 through a resolution.
They urged all city and municipal mayors in the province to “effect the SG-10” honoraria due to the OSCA heads. They also noted that the cities of Malaybalay and Valencia, and the municipalities of Kalilangan and Maramag have complied with the mandated rate.
Espejo said the commission will raise the matter with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines.
The DILG can exercise its powers to compel LGUs to comply with the honoraria rate based on RA 9994 and its implementing rules and regulations, he said.
Espejo advised the OSCA heads and senior citizens federations to document their concerns and file proper complaints, if necessary.
“Worst case scenario, you can go to the courts like what Mandanas did,” he said.
Espejo was referring to the move of Governors Hermilando Mandanas of Batangas and Enrique Garcia of Bataan seeking a higher LGU share in the computation of the internal revenue allotment.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the petitioners in a landmark decision in 2019. (PNA)
