Hoax sends seniors to City Hall

CEBU, Philippines - Several senior citizens trooped to Cebu City Hall yesterday to secure a community tax certificate following reports that it is a requirement for claiming their P3,000 financial assistance tomorrow.

The elders, who crowded at the City Hall ground floor in the morning, dispersed later after a staff of the administration announced that the reports were not true.

City administrator Lucelle Mercado said they did not require the senior citizens to secure a community tax certificate, more known as cedula, and have not required them ever since they started giving out cash aids.

The elders are only required to show a valid identification card to claim the financial assistance.

Apparently, some unscrupulous individuals are trying to get in the way of the city government in distributing the money, Mercado claimed.

“Naa’y uban tingali diha, ‘the others’, na gilawgawan ning distribution sa financial assistance and want to raise anger from the senior citizens,” Mercado surmised, while withholding the names of those she were referring to.

She herself approached some of the oldies and personally told them not to believe in the wrong information.

Lourdes Hortelano, 65, said a female neighbor working as a casual employee at City Hall allegedly told her that she needed to secure a cedula.

“Palukaton kuno mi og cedula para makuha namo ang financial assistance, kay bag-o na kuno ang polisiya karon,” Hortelano said.

Bringing her ID as well as her husband’s, she rushed to City Hall together with fellow senior citizens of Barangay Guadalupe.

After getting assurance from Mercado, Hortelano chose to stay in line and just get the said certificate. Since majority of the elders have dispersed after hearing from Mercado, the queue was shortened.

“Ako na lang kuhaon kay puslan man dia na ko diri unya mubo na sad ang linya,” the senior citizen expressed. She said she would only spend P20 anyway in getting the cedula.

Mercado said the distribution of the P3,000 cash assistance will push through tomorrow.

She said this will be done simultaneously in the barangays in the North District in the morning and in South District in the afternoon.

With a faster system, the distribution will be finished within the day, Mercado said.

“Kung naa man gani pa’y mga problema in case dili nila makuha ilang cash aid, moadto lang sila sa City Hall,” the city administrator said.

Mayor Michael Rama has announced that he is giving P3,000 as Valentine’s Day gift.

City treasurer Diwa Cuevas said that the P2,000 will complete last year’s P10,000 cash assistance while the P1,000 would serve as initial assistance for this year.

The City Council approved P720 million budget for cash assistance of close to 60,000 senior citizens in Cebu City.  (FREEMAN)