Baguio Councilor Yangot defends death assistance program for city gov’t officials, employees
by Kyla Elyza Macapanas | April 11, 2024
Baguio City Councilor Leandro Yangot Jr. has addressed the criticisms of Baguio citizens against his proposed death assistance program for city government officials and employees in an interview on April 8, Monday.
“In the old council, I authored the ordinance which provides burial assistance to indigent residents of the City of Baguio,” Yangot said.“This time around, gusto ko yung mga kawani naman sa gobyerno [ang] mabigyan din ng pagkakataon na mabigyan din ng ganitong assistance.”
He denied the “special treatment” comments from the citizens because of the existing old ordinance.
On April 6, Saturday, Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Baguio announced in a Facebook post that the proposed death assistance program had been approved on the first reading, gaining negative comments from the citizens.
What is the new proposed death assistance program?
Yangot introduced the new ordinance to provide burial assistance exclusively for city government officials and employees which recognizes them as “unsung heroes who have invested so much time and effort” in delivering services to people.
Its purpose is to give financial assistance “when death occurs in their family during the period of their employment with the city government.”
Section 5 of the ordinance mentions specific amounts given but still depending on the circumstances, which include:
- PHP 20,000–50,000 for the death of the government official or employee, depending on the years of the member’s service.
- PHP 5,000 pesos for the death of any immediate family of the gov’t official or employee.
- PHP 50,000 pesos for the death of any incumbent or past elected city official.
What is the old death assistance ordinance?
Yangot co-authored the Ordinance Numbered 107, series of 2017, or the “Pauper’s Burial Ordinance in the City of Baguio”.
“In fact, the City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) is already implementing the ordinance that we offered a long time ago,” he said.
In the old ordinance, the assistance shall be open to “indigents, street roamers, victims of disasters or crimes who have no claimants and who are residents of the City of Baguio.”
Moreover, under its Section 4 states that the CSWD and the City Health Services Office shall first determine the financial status of the beneficiary.
The citizen must be indigent in order to issue a certificate.
An indigent, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is a person “who has no visible means of income, or whose income is insufficient for the subsistence of his family.”
Another regulation under Section 4 from the ordinance is that the city mayor “may enter into a contract with a legitimate funeral parlor operating within the City of Baguio to perform the funeral services.”
The ordinance also includes giving a limited cash assistance for P2,000 only.
What are the concerns of the Baguio citizens?
Baguio citizens expressed criticisms on Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Baguio’s Public Facebook post because of the exclusivity attached to the new death assistance program.
“This ordinance is a picture of discrimination. More to government employees and less to the poor,” one of the commenters said.
Another commenter also asked, “Paano po kaming mga minimum wage [workers] na hindi nasa government?”
According to WageIndicator Network, the minimum wage for agriculture and non-agriculture workers of Cordillera Administrative Region is amounting to P430.
Meanwhile, another Baguio resident also called out the city council’s lack of priority and said, “[Sinong] mas gipit pag may namamatayan–politicians ba o mga ordinaryong manggagawa?”
According to a report by Golden Haven Memorial Parks in 2021, the cheapest funeral expenses range between 8000–15,000 pesos, mid-range may reach up to 250,000 pesos, and high-end services are around 300,000 to 500,000 pesos.
