Wheelchairs for elderly transacting in City Hall?

CEBU, Philippines - The head of the Office of the Senior Citizens’ Affairs in Cebu City wants City Hall to provide wheelchairs for elderly persons who can no longer walk easily and persons with disabilities who go to City Hall for business.

Rolando Llaguno’s suggestion is included in his position paper that he submitted to the Cebu City Council in connection with the move to grant some benefits to senior citizens.

Llaguno said he observed that several senior citizens who visited his office at the ground floor of City Hall from Monday to Friday could not easily walk anymore, that is why he made the suggestion that they be provided wheelchairs for their use.

He also asked the city legislators to designate a loading and unloading area in roads where the elderly persons can ride and disembark from passenger and even private vehicles.

The City Council has referred Llaguno’s letter to Councilor Richard “Ritchie” Osmeña, chairman of the City Council’s committee on traffic management.

At present, there are particular areas in roads of the city that are designated as jeepney stops where the passenger jeepneys can pick-up and allow their passengers to disembark.

These so-called PUJ stops are situated in areas about 50 meters from corners in order to avoid clogging of vehicles.

Llaguno explained that some of the PUJ stops are too far for the elderly persons to walk to.

Elderly persons regularly go to City Hall to follow up their documents at the OSCA and to claim their incentives from the City Treasurer’s Office.

There are more than 60,000 senior citizens in Cebu City who registered after the city decided to give each of them an annual incentive. The existing cash incentive to each of the senior citizen is P4,000 but Mayor Michael Rama had promised to add P3,000 to each of them. –/BRP (FREEMAN)