Indigent seniors receive P1,500 cash aid

Cebu City’s indigent senior citizens line up to receive P1,500 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Some of them sleep while others eat their meals to pass the long waiting time. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

AT 85 years old, Adriana Layan of Barangay Banilad, Cebu City still works in a farm and sells body oil in Barangay Tunghaan, Minglanilla town to buy medicines and food for her family.

Layan has no choice but to work hard since her two children are jobless and only one of her eight grandchildren earns as a jeepney driver.

So it was with some relief and gratitude that Layan received the P1,500 cash aid yesterday from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through its Social Pension Program.

Layan was among the 2,000 beneficiaries who received P1,500 at Plaza Sugbo in Cebu City.

With the cash aid, Layan said she can rest for a few days and then buy medicines for her arthritis without having to work in a farm and sell body oil.

“Nalipay g’yud ko nga nakadawat ko ani kay makatabang nako ni. Magpa misa unya ko kay dapat magpasalamat sa Ginoo sa grasya nga nadawat (I am very happy when I received the money since this could help me. I will offer mass because we need to thank God for the blessings received),” she said.

(CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Layan will also use part of the amount to buy a can of adult milk. She temporarily lives in Barangay Tunghaan, Minglanilla town with her family and plants sweet potato, bananas and horse radish for food.

She also sells body oil for P100 per bottle or does massage.

When asked why she still needs to work despite her age, she simply answered, “Because we are poor.”

Leah Japson, head of the City Social Welfare and Services (CSWS), said the beneficiaries are indigent senior citizens with no monthly pension received from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS).

“These beneficiaries are identified as the poorest of the poor,” Japson said.

The DSWD coordinated with DSWS in identifying the beneficiaries.

The beneficiaries of the Social Pension Program receive P500 per month. The distribution is done every quarter.

She also clarified that the cash assistance received yesterday by the senior citizens are separate from the annual P12,000 cash aid given by Cebu City Hall.