Senior citizen wants OSCA employees penalized

CEBU, Philippines - A senior citizen from Basak San Nicolas is asking for help from the Cebu City Council to ensure that some employees of the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) will be penalized for negligence.

Delia Navales-Ponce, 60, of Barangay Basak-San Nicolas, Cebu City, narrated that she applied for the city’s financial assistance for senior citizens and submitted the required documents to OSCA last January 16.

After submitting her supporting documents, Ponce said an OSCA employee told her to follow up her transaction weeks later because they will process her papers and a control number has been assigned for her application.

The documents that she submitted to OSCA included a copy of her voter’s certificate issued by Cebu City Election Officer Edwin Cadungog, machine photo copy of her Senior Citizen’s ID, a copy of her Community Tax and her application letter.

Ponce said she was so surprised when a certain Felipe Sasing, also a senior citizen, called her up on January 24 through the contact numbers listed in her application letter.

Sasing told her that he was also surprised why Ponce’s documents are placed together with his own papers inside an envelope.

Ponce asked Councilor Noel Eleuterio Wenceslao to help her find out “why my documents submitted to OSCA would easily be in the hands of other senior citizen.”

According to Ponce, if Sasing had not informed her that her documents are with him, her application for financial assistance from the city “would just fall under deaf ears, denied for non-filing or no records available.”

In asking that the responsible personnel be sanctioned, Ponce said “what can we do if we have irresponsible officers, where can we go?” he asked Wenceslao.  (FREEMAN)