Release of aid for elderly on March 26 and 27

CEBU, Philippines - Senior citizens in Cebu City have a new reason to smile as the City Government finally decided on the distribution of their financial assistance.

The Office for the Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA) announced that their P4,000 each will be released this month, before the election ban starts 45 days before the May 13 midterm elections.

OSCA Chief Rolando Llaguno said those coming from the north district may claim their assistance on March 26 while the schedule for the south is the following day.

As earlier announced, an annual budget of  P10,000 each was the agreed to be provided for the senior citizens from the city.

With the initial release of P4,000 this month, the remaining P6,000 will be divided into three more scheduled distributions in July, September, and December, Llaguno added.

In 2012, over 54,000 registered senior citizens received financial assistance from the city government.

With the “strict” requirement on letter of endorsement removed by Mayor Michael Rama, 5,000 more individuals were added as new applicants this year.

Llaguo, however, clarified that their office has yet to finish validating the list and check for double entry before the scheduled distributions later this month.

OSCA has a P60M budget for its financial assistance program.

The schedule of distribution was agreed following a meeting with OSCA,

Management Information and Computer Services (MICS), City Treasurer’s Office (CTO), and the City Social Welfare Services (CSWS).  (FREEMAN)