Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella. (File photo courtesy of Cebu City PIO)
CEBU CITY – The 82,000 senior citizens here will get their PHP3,000 financial assistance next week, Mayor Edgardo Labella said on Thursday.
Aside from the cash aid, Labella will sign an executive order setting procedures in releasing financial assistance for three months.
The release of financial aid was supposed to be scheduled last month.
However, Labella postponed the distribution due to reports about Mandaue City personnel who got infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) after doing a house-to-house distribution of senior citizens’ benefits.
The city government of Mandaue confirmed the report but did not specify how many of the City Treasurer’s Office personnel got infected with Covid-19.
Labella said the Commission on Audit has approved their request to distribute the cash aid by using photos of elderlies as proof that the money was received by them even without signing any document.
Cebu City Treasurer Jerome Castillo is focal person in distributing the financial aid.
Labella assured that the proper disinfection, social distancing and face mask protocols will be strictly observed during the cash aid distribution.
Castillo said the payroll is expected to be finished soon.
“It's 90 percent-ready. After mahuman ni (finishing this) next week we will conduct a house-to-house distribution in every sitio (sub-village). If we have substantial disbursing officers, we hope to distribute this from five to 10 days,” he told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Castillo said the disbursing officers will undergo rapid testing to ensure they are Covid-free before they are allowed to meet the senior citizens in their homes.
The PHP3,000 represents the financial assistance for the months of March, April and May.
Castillo said those senior citizens who are residing in sitios placed under lockdown can still claim their benefits once the enhanced community quarantine is lifted. (PNA)
