P5M in cash aid to senior citizens forfeited

CEBU, Philippines - Around P5 million cash assistance for senior citizens was forfeited by the Cebu City government due to the failure of the beneficiaries to claim the money on the intended schedule.

Based on the record of the City Treasurer’s Office, around 2,000 out of the 58,000 registered senior citizens in the city were not able to claim the cash aid.

Each senior citizen was supposed to get P2,000 since the start of the distribution in May 2 until Thursday last week.

Rolando Llaguno, head of the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs, said that the forfeited amount will go back to the City’s general fund and those who failed to claim  cannot get it anymore.

According to the City’s guideline, unclaimed cash assistance to the elderly will be forfeited 15 days after the scheduled distribution.

Eirah Faye Castañares, City’s Local Revenue Officer, said the senior citizens themselves should claim the money.

“Naay uban nga namatay na, out of the country or out of town ang uban, or nowhere to find g’yud, so di ta makapugos nila (to claim the money on the scheduled distribution),” she said.

The distribution of cash aid to senior citizens in May 2 was the second round of for this year and the City set aside P117 million for it.

The first round of distribution was held last February wherein P4.5 million was correspondingly forfeited for the same reason. Some 3,000 senior citizens then have not claimed the P3,000 financial assistance.

Rama has said earlier that the seniors will receive a total of P12,000 assistance this year, half of which would be in cash and the other half in kind. The City set aside P720 million budget to assist the elderly.  (FREEMAN)