Persons with Disability (PWD) join a BPO job fare organized by the Cebu City government on July 27. Now, they are set to also benefit from the mandatory insurance coverage from Philhealth.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — More persons with disability (PWDs) in Cebu City are now eligible for a yearly P12,000 financial assistance.
This after the Cebu City Council passed an amendatory ordinance that would allow all PWDs in Cebu City to avail of the financial assistance as long as they were registered voters of the city since 2013.
The original Ordinance 2456, which grants P12,000 financial assistance to qualified PWDs every year, stated that only the PWDs who are registered voters since 2010 can avail of the monetary assistance provided by the city.
Councilor Leah Japson sought to amend the ordinance to include those who registered in 2013, making the requirement for the PWDs to be at least a resident or a voter for seven years in the city.
Aside from this, Japson also sought to amend the schedule of distributing the financial assistance and change from to quarterly or four times a year, to monthly.
She said the PWDs would be able to use the money for their needs as it would be distributed to them on a monthly basis.
“PWDs are vulnerable to find stable job or economically unstable and is always at the expending circumstance due to their health and/or mental status,” Japson said.
A PWD is eligible for financial assistance if the person was registered with the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) and if the person has a voter certification issued by either of the two Commission on Elections (Comelec) district offices.
The passed ordinance is now awaiting the approval of Mayor Edgardo Labella before it can be fully implemented.
Barangay Inayawan resident, 52-year-old Jeffrey (not his real name), said the financial assistance distributed monthly would help him pay his bills, especially for his maintenance medicine.
Jeffrey became blind in 2009 because of diabetes, and he had a hard time adjusting to his lost eyesight.
He said he hoped the city government would also find ways to distribute the financial assistance more conveniently for the PWDs like him because a simple task such as lining up could already be difficult for them./dbs