Instead of a house-to-house distribution, the senior citizens in Mandaue City will receive their financial assistance through their ATM cards.
City Councilor Cesar Cabahug Jr. told Sunstar Cebu that starting this year’s financial assistance distribution, senior citizens will withdraw their cash aid through their LandBank accounts.
This is to avoid mass gathering and protect the adults who are 60 years old and above from contracting the coronavirus.
Cabahug said the senior citizens are scheduled to receive the remaining half of their annual financial assistance, P4,000, in December.
In February, all the registered senior citizens in Mandaue City started to open their own ATM accounts in LandBank, said Cabahug.
This new scheme of distribution of financial assistance is beneficial for both the senior citizens and the city government personnel assigned to distribute the aid in barangays, said Cabahug.
He said both will avoid face-to-face transactions.
Since the pandemic began, the City Treasurer’s Office personnel and the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (Osca) have distributed the financial assistance in a house-to-house scheme to prevent the senior citizens from going out of their houses and being exposed to the virus.
“We have adapted to the times and giving out senior citizens cash cards has been proven to be effective and efficient for both sides,” said Cabahug.
Cabahug said that since February the LandBank has produced and delivered around 6,000 ATM cards.
He said they are still waiting for the other 18,000 ATM cards to be delivered.
All the 24,000 ATM cards will be distributed to the senior citizens possibly by November, said Cabahug. (KFD)