Village chief says lack of coordination caused overcrowding in financial aid distribution for senior citizens

Screenshot grabbed from netizen, Maria Fe Precillas Jarina‎’s video of the senior citizen financial aid distribution in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Guadalupe Barangay Captain Michael Gacasan was surprised on Friday morning, May 22, 2020, that senior citizens flocked to the barangay complex for the distribution of the financial assistance.

Gacasan told CDN Digital that the Mayor’s Liaison Office (MILO) led the distribution and did not coordinate with the barangay.

The line from the sports complex reached the streets and senior citizens crowded  the enclosed space, which concerned many of the residents since social distancing wasn’t observed and senior citizens are those most susceptible to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019).

“Wala sila nicoordinate namo, nahibulong nalang mi nga daghan na kaayog senior citizens. Ang ingon sa MILO naglisod silag locate kay ang mga address dili specific so ilang gipaanhi,” said Gacasan.

(They did not coordinate with us, I was shocked that many senior citizens flocked the sports complex. The MILO said they found it difficult to distribute house to house because the addresses were not specific so they just told them to come.)

Gacasan ordered to temporarily stop  the distribution and asked all senior citizens to go back to their respective homes.

The barangay then deployed buses that would take the senior citizens from their sitios (sub villages) back to the sports complex for the distribution.

Each batch would go down the bus, get their financial assistance, then go back to the bus. They will be brought home immediately.

The bus would make rounds in the sitios to ensure that all senior citizens scheduled to receive their financial assistance today will be accommodated.

Gacasan said this lack of coordination between the barangay and the city government has caused many troubles during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

“This is not the first time nga wala nicoordinate tarong ang MILO namo pero kami baya ang mahold liable pirmi,” said Gacasan.

(This is not the first time that MILO did not coordinate with us properly and we are always held liable.)

The village chief urged the city government to stay true to their promise that there will be no politicking during the pandemic and coordinate with the barangay when it comes to barangay affairs. Gacasan is under the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan party of former mayor Tomas Osmeña. /bmjo