The release of unclaimed financial aid at the Cebu Coliseum. | Photo Courtesy of Cebu City PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The financial assistance for senior citizens in Cebu City will soon be done through cash cards instead of the more tedious house-to-house distribution.
The Cebu City government is already ironing out plans for the cash cards to replace the face-to-face distribution of the P12,000 per year financial assistance.
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said that the Landbank of the Philippines (LNB) has agreed in principle to adapt the cash card system in distributing financial assistance.
This would fit well with the “new normal” after the pandemic, which aims to reduce close contact of people.
A task force led by the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) is now handling the planning and the creation of the system for the cash cards through LNB.
“Naay tay gihimo nga task force nga padayon na og meeting sa Landbank. Libre kining cash card nga ato ipanghatag sa atong mga senior citizens,” said Labella.
(We already made a task force and they are constantly meeting with Landbank. We will distribute the cash card for free.)
The mayor admits that the current system for the distribution is not safe for the senior citizens, who are considered as the vulnerable sector for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The cash cards would serve as a step moving forward in the long term because once the cash cards are released, the senior citizens no longer need to wait for the distribution. The money will automatically be deposited to the cash card and the senior citizens may access this anytime. The deposits may be done monthly or by tranche.
Labella expects the cash cards to be realized soon, hopefully before the year ends. But they will ensure first that the system is foolproof to avoid problems in relation to theft or lost cards, ensuring that the senior citizen will really receive their financial assistance.
The mayor said they will make more announcements in the coming weeks regarding the planned cash cards. /bmjo
Read: Release of unclaimed senior citizen’s cash aid starts today