More than 1, 000 elderly people from General Santos City have been enlisted as beneficiaries of monthly pension from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

City social welfare and development officer Rebecca Magante said pension is released to the beneficiaries every quarter by the City Social Welfare and Development Office.

Senior citizens who reach the age of 77 and not a recipient of other pensions will qualify to avail of a P500 monthly pension from DSWD.

Calixta Bacalso, 91, a resident of Barangay Conel, was elated despite falling into a long queue inside the City Hall to claim her quarterly pension amounting to P1,500.

"I am very old already. I cannot work anymore. This pension will be of help for me to sustain my daily needs," Bacalso said.

City Mayor Ronnel Rivera thanked the DSWD for its support to the elderly people in the city.

"I need the support of other government agencies to help in developing Gensan into a competitive city that cares for the indigents and the marginalized sector," Rivera said.

Photo by Russell Delvo / Gensan CPIO

General Santos City – The construction of the P1-billion circumferential road here will soon be completed after the city government negotiated with residents whose houses may be expropriated to make way for the project.

Arturo Valero, regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority-12 (NEDA-12), said construction of the road project recently resumed following the negotiation made by City Mayor Ronnel Rivera with some 40 families who were affected by the project.

Valero said the construction of the bridge connecting Barangays Mabuhay and Apopong that will complete the circumferential road project had been hampered in the past due to issues involving the road-right-of-way. The bridge alone was supposed to have been finished last March.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) sought the assistance of Rivera who held series of dialogues with the affected families.

“I had to intervene so that this project can proceed but at the same time, I should not set aside the welfare of my constituents. These negotiations will prove that we can come up with a win-win solution as long we meet halfway,” Rivera said.

The DPWH had resumed the construction of the bridge which costs P60 million.

The circumferential road, if completed, is expected to decongest traffic along the city’s major thoroughfares and provide a better connection between the city and its neighboring areas.

City Mayor Ronnel Rivera invites different delegates and stakeholders of the 16th National Tuna Congress which opened Thursday, September 4, to invest in Gensan, as it is a city with "tons of potentials". (Gensan CPIO/ Russell Delvo)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (06 September 2014) - "This is a city built on Tuna." This is the statement made by Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Atty. Asis D. Perez during the opening of the Trade Fair and Exhibit of the 16th Tuna Congress Thursday (September 04, 2014). According to Perez, Gensan, as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines, has greatly shaped the fishing economy of the country, as well as helped the local employment generation. The BFAR director declared the "true heroes" of the fishing industry in the city are the small local fishermen who have worked hard perennially just to catch fishes. SOCSKSARGEN Fishing Federation and Allied Industries Inc. (SFFAII) president Joaquin Lu added to the words of Perez and emphasized that the tuna economy of Gensan is in good hands. "Our current administration here in Gensan is always ready to help the fishing sector," Lu stated. Prior to the 16th Tuna Congress, City Mayor Ronnel Rivera has already invoked that Gensan's fishing industry has been steady in its catches and contribution to the local economy. He also debunked some claims that the tuna industry in the city is already flunking, and that Gensan has been ousted in its throne as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines by Mindoro. In 2013 alone, Gensan has a total fish catch of 167,578,75 tons (152,024,884.74 kilos) compared to the 600,000 kilos of Mindoro in the fusion of their 2012 and 2013 catches. Regardless of this, Mayor Rivera bared that tuna industry won't pose any significant growth for the years to come due to the strict regulations imposed by foreign countries regarding fishing in international waters. (Gensan CPIO/Ian John M. Lagare)