6,123 PWDs get initial allowance

CEBU, Philippines - Each of the 6,123 Persons with Disabilities PWDs in Cebu City has received the initial P2,000 of their annual P3,000 annual cash incentive from City Hall.

The remaining P1,000 will be distributed in December.

Ester Concha, head of the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS), said only 6,123 PWDs received the incentives because the rest of the 12,000 reported total number still have not submitted the required documents to prove residency in Cebu City.

It was reported that several PWDs from other places in Visayas and Mindanao have come to Cebu City hoping to avail of the cash incentive.

The recipients also need to prove that they have voted in Cebu City in the 2010 elections, said Virginia Piccio, also of DSWS. If the PWDs are minors and not yet eligible to vote, their parents must be the ones to have voted.

One of those who received the cash allowance from the city is Nicolas “Kolas” Hilot, a blind man who said he will use the money to buy galvanized iron for his house.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) is now double-checking its records to come up with a complete list of senior citizens in every barangay.

OSCA head Rolando Llaguno said they have sent their old list to the barangays for verification.

“Ang ako ani nga aron dili na mahitabo nga ang mga ngalan sa ubang senior citizens adto makit-i sa lagyo kaayo nga barangay. Sa subli nga pagpanghatag og cash allowance karong Disyembre maminus na ang problema,” Llaguno said.     - THE FREEMAN