A TOTAL of 10,000 more cash cards will be distributed to people who are 60 years old and above in Cebu City.
This was announced by Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (Osca) executive director Jeffrey Ocampo in an interview on Sunday, March 28, 2021.
Ocampo said the Osca already transmitted the necessary documents to the Land Bank of the Philippines, which issues the cash cards.
Ocampo said the 10,000 cash cards are in an addition to the 15,000 cash cards that were distributed last December.
He said that it took time for the Osca to submit the recent batch of requirements to the LBP since the Osca had to verify some of the senior citizens’ details.
As to when the new batch of cash cards will be distributed, Ocampo said he will get an update after the first tranche of cash assistance distribution.
The City Government started its distribution of cash assistance for the first quarter on Saturday, March 27.
As to the use of cash cards, the Osca office received several complaints from senior citizens who said they could not withdraw money from the automated teller machine. However, the matter was addressed immediately, Ocampo said.
“What happened was, some of them did not follow the instruction. They were not able to activate the pin so the card could be used,” he said in Cebuano.
He said focal persons were tasked to gather details of the complainants before endorsing these to the Osca. The Osca then transmitted these to the LBP for reactivation.
He reminded senior citizens that the cash cards are only for withdrawal of money.
Mayor Edgardo Labella previously urged senior citizens to ask for assistance from the Osca to activate their cash cards.
Meanwhile, Ocampo said disbursing officers from the City Hall conducted a house-to-house cash distribution on March 27.
He said the distribution went “smoothly.”
He said the disbursing officers will resume the cash distribution on Monday, March 29.
The senior citizens received P3,000 as financial assistance from the City Government to cover the months of January, February, and March. (JJL)