INDIGENT senior citizens in Central Visayas will receive a P500 monthly assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-7) after they undergo special validation on May 16.
The special validation is conducted by the municipality, city and provincial social welfare offices based on the list of names submitted by the local government units (LGUs) They will be included in the DSWD’s databank for reference.
DSWD through its “Listahanan” or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) will assess 7,565 senior citizens in the region. Of that number, Cebu has 3,403 listed senior citizens, Negros Oriental has 1,817, Bohol has 2,112 and Siquijor, 233.
Qualified for the program are persons 77 years old and above; are frail, sickly or have a disability; not receiving pension from the Social Security System (SSS), the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) or veterans’ pension and do not have a permanent source of income or receive regular support from relatives.
“We will give the financial assistance until their last breath. The P500 is a small amount but they are still happy with it,” NHTS-PR information officer Kerwin R. Macopia said.
Macopia said they will conduct a household assessment on more than one million families in the region after the special validation./ by Xavier University Development Communication Intern Irish Maika R. Lam
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