Seniors, PWDs to receive first tranche of cash aid

CEBU, Philippines - Senior citizens and persons with disabilities in Cebu City will soon receive the first tranche of their cash aid from the city government.

Barangay officials in the city will also get to receive their incentives, City Administrator Dr. Lucelle Mercado further announced yesterday.

The scheduled distribution of P2,000 to each registered senior citizen will be on Friday, February 12.

The amount will be deducted from the standardized P12,000 annual assistance to the city’s elderly.

The City Treasurer’s Office prepared a total amount of P133,922,000 to be distributed to all the 66,961 beneficiaries (The figure presented is based on the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs records).

Mercado said the previous process of distributing the assistance will be adopted.

The first day of the distribution for senior citizens on Friday will be at the designated areas in their respective barangays.

For those who fail to get the money on Friday, they have until Feb. 27 or the 15th day to claim it, but not at the barangays anymore.

Since Friday is followed by a weekend, the distribution will resume on Monday at Plaza Sugbo grounds fronting the City Hall building, Mercado said.

If the number of claimants will lessen, the releasing of the money will then be transferred to the City Treasurer’s Office until Feb. 27.

Mercado advised the beneficiaries to claim their cash aid as much as possible on Friday.

“Kun’ mahimo, claim g’yud mo on Friday. Ayaw mo paghuwat sa extension since it will be inconvenient on your part, kay imbes adto lang mo sa inyong barangay nga mas duol na kaysa mo-ari pa mo sa City Hall,” the city official said.

For PWDs, the cash aid distribution is set for Monday, February 15.

Each PWD will receive P1,000, which is part of the P5,000 annual aid that will be released also on a staggered basis.

The city listed a total of 10,316 registrants from the PWD sector, thus a budget allocation of P10,316,000.

The distribution in the respective barangays will also take only on Monday.

Mercado said barangay officials will also receive their incentives from the city government, although no specific date as to the distribution has been set yet.

“It will be next week. Wala pa na-finalize ang schedule but definitely, they will get their incentives next week,” she said. — (FREEMAN)