Seniors divided on monthly aid release

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City’s senior citizens appear to be divided on the proposal to distribute their aid from quarterly to monthly.

Some senior citizens find it convenient to claim the financial assistance monthly. There are also some who find it more practical to claim such assistance after three months like what happened yesterday.

Yesterday, the senior citizens duly registered with the Cebu City Hall received P3, 000 in financial assistance covering the months of July to September.

As early as 6 a.m., there were already at least 30 senior citizens present at the Kalubihan Barangay Hall.

One of them was Francisco Labares Jr., 70, who is thankful for the financial assistance he received.

“Nagpasalamat ko kay nakatabang kini sa among pagkawad-on,” said Labares.

Labares added that receiving the P3,000 financial assistance after three months is much better than receiving P1,000 financial assistance monthly. He said that he can use the money he claimed to pay for his needs.

“Katong tag one month ra, kuwang (when it is distributed per month, it’s not enough),” he said.

The 72-year-old Robert Niñal shared the same sentiment. He said that the P1,000 monthly assistance is not enough for him to buy his own medicine.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Montes, another resident of Barangay Kalubihan, stated that despite receiving a larger amount after waiting for three months, he still prefers to claim his financial assistance monthly.

“Dugay kaayo ang tulo ka buwan. Maayo nang one month kay aron atong magamit dayon diretso sa atong mga kinahanglan (It’s a long wait if we receive it every three months. We cannot use the money immediately if the need arises),” said Montes.

The qualified senior citizens who failed to claim their financial assistance from their designated barangays yesterday are given 10 working days to claim it at the City Treasurer’s Office in Cebu City Hall.

They can still claim the financial assistance until October 4 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. — JMD (FREEMAN)