1 week ago
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ILOILO CITY — The city government has raised concerns over the alleged political interference in distributing cash benefits for senior citizens, following complaints that some beneficiaries were excluded based on their political affiliations.
City Mayor Jerry Treñas said his office received several complaints from elderly residents in Barangay Rizal Pala-Pala Uno who claimed they were "unjustly delisted or excluded from the roster of beneficiaries."
The complaints center on the barangay (village) captain's handling of the enlistment and delisting process for octogenarians (80 years old), nonagenarians (90 years old), and centenarians (100 years old), who are entitled to cash incentives under the Expanded Centenarians Act of 2024.
Under the law, senior citizens ages 80, 85, 90 and 95 are entitled to a P10,000 cash gift.
Centenarians, or those who turn 100 years old, are also slated to receive P100,000.
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The National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) oversees the program.
"Out of deep concern for the welfare of our elderly constituents, I requested our City Administrator to formally refer these complaints to the NCSC," the mayor said in a statement.
City Administrator Melchor Tan, in a Feb. 27 letter obtained by The Manila Times, wrote to NCSC commissioner Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, requesting the commission's intervention in the matter.
Tan noted that those who are specifically targeted in the delistment are those who support rival candidates.
The letter also said that the village chief's act of conducting enlistment activities violated NCSC guidelines, which mandate that the process should be handled by the Local Social Welfare and Development Office and the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs, not barangay officials.
The city government also flagged concerns over a Feb. 28 cash distribution event allegedly organized by the office of Rep. Julienne Baronda without proper coordination with the city government.
Under NCSC regulations, the commission's regional office must coordinate with local government units and notify local executives of the final list of beneficiaries before any payouts take place.
