A senior citizen couple receive their financial aid in barangay Mabolo in this 2017 file photo.
CEBU CITY, Philippines–Cebu City has been under the enhanced community quarantine for almost three weeks now and the senior citizens still have yet to receive their March and April financial assistance from the government.
Since the senior citizens are the most vulnerable age group for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, Mayor Edgardo Labella has ordered the distribution to be house to house.
Read: House-to-house distribution of elderly’s cash aid
This would entail the active involvement of the barangays as the mayor believes they would know their residents best.
In Executive Order No. 68, Labella has ordered the distribution of cash assistance to the senior citizens in a ten-day period from April 25 to May 4, 2020.
Unlike past distributions, the money will be delivered to the doorstep of the beneficiaries through the City Government Disbursement Officers (DO).
The senior citizen may present the original senior citizen identification card (ID) issued by the Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA) upon acceptance of the financial assistance.
If the beneficiary is admitted to the hospital, an immediate family member may receive the financial assistance provided that the person present the senior citizen’s ID, medical certificate, and an authorization letter.
For the senior citizens who died within the month or dates of distribution, the next of kin may accept the financial assistance, given they present a birth certificate and death certificate of the beneficiary.
Labella also suspended the ten-day usual grace period for senior citizens who fail to get their financial assistance on the day of the distribution.
Instead, they can claim the financial assistance at the City Hall within ten days after the lifting of the ECQ.
The mayor urged the senior citizens to be patient as the city government irons out the system of distribution. He urged them stay at their respective homes to be safe.
“Bahalag madelay basta safe ta. (It does not matter it there is a delay as long as we are safe),” said the mayor. /bmjo