Cebu City senior citizens brave the rain on June 10, 2020 to get their financial assistance at the Cebu City Hall. CDN Digital photo | Gerard Vincent Francisco
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Rain could not stop at least 200 senior citizens of Cebu City to line up at the City Hall on Wednesday, June 10, 2020, and get their long-awaited financial assistance from the city government.
Rogelio Cortes, 65, walked an hour from L. Tudtud Street, Barangay Mabolo, with only a tattered umbrella above his head to shelter him from the rain.
He said his name was not part of the list during the first distribution of the P3,000 worth financial assistance delivered house-to-house from May 16 to 26, 2020. So today, he was determined to get the money due him.
“Di na gyod madalag hulat. Kailangan na gyod nako kuhaon kay naa koy gitake nga tambal para sa akong diabetes. Mopalit pa kog pangkusumo sa balay,” said Cortes.
(I cannot wait. I need to get the financial assistance because I have maintenance medicine to buy for my diabetes. I also need to buy food for my family.)
Cortes lives with his wife, three children, and five grandchildren.
Not knowing that an authorization letter was sufficient for his children to get the financial assistance in his place, he went alone and walked more than five kilometers just to reach the City Hall.
For him, the sacrifice of walking hours and kilometers under the rain was worth it if only he can bring the money home to his family.
Cortes was among the 200 senior citizens who waited in line at the City Hall, their spirits undampened by the downpour.
They were later transferred to the Cebu City Coliseum to shelter them from the rain caused by the incoming Low Pressure Area (LPA).
“Our senior citizens unexpectedly flocked to the Cebu City Hall this morning to claim their financial assistance. Most, if not all, are residing outside Cebu City (temporarily or otherwise) when the financial assistance was distributed by Cebu City Government personnel HOUSE-TO-HOUSE last week,” said City Administrator Floro Casas, Jr.
Casas said it did not take 30 minutes for the senior citizens to be transferred to the Cebu City Coliseum, as the health and safety of the senior citizens were of the utmost priority of the city.
“We wish to reiterate the advisory from the Cebu City Office of the Senior Citizens Affair (OSCA) that our senior citizens need NOT claim their financial assistance personally. Again, for the safety and comfort of our senior citizens, the financial assistance may be claimed by the duly authorized representative of the senior citizen,” he said.
The children or guardian of the senior citizen only need to print out the letter of authorization as shown below, and submit this to the Office of the Senior Citizens’ Affairs Office (OSCA).
Letter of authorization for the claiming of the financial assistance in Cebu City. | Photo Courtesy of Atty Floro Casas, Jr.
Aside from the duly filled form, a photocopy of the senior citizen’s identification card and latest picture carrying a recent newspaper will also be submitted for verification.
Casas urged the guardians of the senior citizens to assist them in getting the financial assistance so the seniors will not be put at risk. /bmjo