Senior citizens in Toledo City did not mind the dangers from the typhoon signal number 2 in southern Cebu yesterday as they flocked to their respective barangay treasurer’s office to claim their P2,500 cash gift.
Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña wanted to postpone the distribution of the monetary aid because typhoon Seniang was dumping heavy rains on southern Cebu but still, the senior citizens formed queues outside their barangay treasurer’s office to claim their cash gift.
“Gipadayon na lang bisag bagyo kay daghan naman galinya nga mga senior citizens sa sayo pa sa buntag (We decided to push through with the distribution because there was a long line of seniors waiting for their gifts),” said Rizza Rafols, Toledo City’s tourism officer who was also tasked by the mayor to facilitate both the cash aid distribution and the evacuees in yesterday’s typhoon.
The distribution of cash gift to the elderly was a distraction to their monitoring of the weather and doing work related to preemptive evacuation, added Rafols.
Barangay captain Lanie Bantilan of Ilihan, Toledo said that the senior citizens had long waited for their cash aid so they could not afford to wait more .
“Ang mga senyor nangasuko nga ipostpone kay dugay na kuno ni nilang gipaabot, bahalag bagyo (The elderly was upset with the planned postponement, they wanted to push through with it despite the typhoon),” said Bantilan.
Lola Petra, 72, of barangay Poblacion, was among those who defied the heavy downpour just to claim her P2,500.
She will use the money to buy medicines, she explained.