Casas claims senior citizen financial assistance distribution was sabotaged

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Administrator Floro Casas, Jr., is claiming that political opponents of Mayor Edgardo Labella has sabotaged the distribution of the financial assistance for senior citizens.

This he said after senior citizens have been flocking the City Hall for three days to claim their financial assistance that was not delivered to their homes.

On his Facebook page, Casas said they received information that someone from the opposition party has spread that the deadline of the financial distribution is on June 15, 2020.

The city administrator clarified that the executive order of Mayor Edgardo Labella states that the senior citizen can still claim the financial assistance within ten days after the community quarantine is lifted.

Since the city is still under the general community quarantine, the senior citizens are expected to stay at home and avoid going out to public places like the City Hall.

“Last of senior citizen financial assistance distribution is not June 15. Based on Executive Order No. 76, those who were not able to receive their financial assistance may claim it from the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) within TEN (10) days from lifting of the mandatory stay at home order for senior citizens. Since the mandatory stay at home order is STILL IN EFFECT, the ten-day period is NOT yet running,” said Casas. 

Casas further claimed that a member of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) has erroneously spread the information causing the senior citizens to flock the city hall.

“Naa na tay mga pangalan sa mga ‘animels’ nga mangingilad but unya na lang nato ipagawas human macompleto ug sworn affidavits ang mga senior citizens ug testigos nga mireport sa atong opisina sa modus sa pagpangilad,” he said.

CDN Digital has reached out to minority floor leader, Councilor Nestor Archival, but the councilor has yet to respond for comment.

A senior citizen who successfully claimed her financial assistance yesterday said she was not aware of any deadline, and that no one told her that she only had a limited time to get it.

The 65-year-old from Barangay Inayawan said that she only went to get her financial aid because she received information that they already can.

After being stuck in Mandaue City, it was only on June 1 that she was able to go home to Cebu City.  /bmjo