October 25, 2022
THE planned distribution of the senior citizens’ financial assistance from the Cebu City Government on Friday, October 28, 2022, will depend on whether the City Council will pass the third supplemental budget (SB3) amounting to P1.3 billion on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.
Vicente Esmeña, head of the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (Osca), said the budget for the cash aid is covered by the SB3, which is pending before the council.
If the SB3 is approved, Esmeña said 88,220 senior citizens will receive P2,000 for the months of September and October on Friday, which happens to be Mayor Michael Rama’s 68th birthday.
Persons with disability will receive their cash aid after All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days on November 1 and 2.
Council Noel Wenceslao, committee on budget and finance chairman, said the mayor had promised senior citizens he would release their financial assistance on his birthday during a gathering to celebrate Senior Citizens Month in the first week of October.
To collect the money, senior citizens need to go to the venue in their respective barangays and bring their identification card issued by Osca and a ballpoint pen. An authorization letter will not be honored.
Employees of the Department of Social Welfare and Services will deliver the cash aid to the homes of the bedridden elderly.
Wenceslao earlier said that funds for the SB3 would come from the executive department’s unexpended funds that would be realigned for other purposes.
He said the SB3 would also cover City Hall expenses like fuel allocation, among others.
The council approved SB1 amounting to P1.6 million in February and SB2 amounting to P1.2 billion in June. (PAC, PJB)