The Makati city government led by Mayor Abigail Binay has distributed 1,500 of its Makatizen Cards to residents of Barangay Gen Pio del Pilar over the weekend.
Binay led the ceremonial launch and distribution of the ready-to-use multi-purpose card on Saturday at the Gen. Pio del Pilar Elementary School-Main in 5560 P. Binay Street.
Romulo Salgado Jr., Officer-in-Charge of the city’s Information and Community Relations Department, said the 1,500 successful registrants of Barangay Pio del Pilar are among the first batch of residents from district 1 to receive the cards.
He said registered merchants, including fish ball vendors and GCash outposts, were on hand to allow the new cardholders to experience the card’s efficacy in real-time.
Two months ago, the city government distributed the cards to 1,000 residents of Barangay Rizal.
The Makatizen Card is a multi-purpose card which can be used by half a million residents and city hall employees for official, personal and financial transactions.
The Card is a public private partnership project of Makati and G-xchange and iBayad Online Ventures, Inc. It is a comprehensive universal card system which offers residents, students and city government employees expanded and improved access to government services.
The card allows recipients to receive cash allowances, stipends, and other cash benefits, including those provided under the Makati Health Program (Yellow Card), Senior Citizens program (Blu Card), PWD card and Solo Parent Card among others.
“Aside from making day-to-day tasks much more convenient for Makatizens, the project also allows greater transparency in the implementation of the city’s various social welfare programs, thereby ensuring that the right people receive the right benefits in the most efficient way,” Binay explained.
The card can also be used to pay fees and taxes, personal remittances and other financial transactions.
More importantly, the magnetic strip contains vital information about bearer: his address, gender, blood type, as well as emergency contact numbers. The card is also equipped with a Near-Field Communication feature which will allow city offices equipped with iBayad machine readers to verify the identity of residents and employees with just a single tap.
