DESPITE THE demise of the Largo Vida program of the Climaco administration, senior citizens and their families lauded the local government for its continued support to the welfare of the elderlies as octogenarians and nonagenarians received cash incentives.
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| Mayor Beng Climaco and Councilor Pinpin Pareja pose with an elderly who received her cash incentive. (Bong Serondo) |
Mayor Beng Climaco said the cash incentives is just one of the numerous benefit packages her administration has for senior citizens. She said the cash incentive will ensure that senior citizens will have funds to buy basic necessities such as medicines.
Climaco, accompanied by Councilor Josephine Pareja and personnel from the CSWDO and OSCA led the distribution of cash incentives to the senior citizens. The mayor also spoke with the beneficiaries and assured them of her administration’s support and various benevolent programs for the elderly sector.
Nonagenarian or those whose ages are from 90-99 years received P20,000 each, and P10,000 each was also given to octogenarians who are 80-89 years old. Centenarians or those 100 years old or more will also receive P50,000.
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Senior citizens could have received more had not
the opposition councilors trashed the Vida programs of the Climaco
administration. Beneficiaries of the Vida programs blamed opposition
councilors for “killing” the assistance intended for senior citizens and the
disadvantage sector of the community.
The opposition councilors, who
are allies of former Congressman Celso Lobregat and incumbent Congressman
Mannix Dalipe, removed the Vida program’s vital funding in the P4.38 billion
2021 Executive Budget. One such program is the Largo Vida, an initiative
that Climaco started in 2018 and which she had intended to expand to over
60,000 beneficiaries this year.
Climaco identified the opposition councilors as Monsi dela Cruz, who is
now dead; John Dalipe, BG Guingona, Mike Alavar, Litlit Macrohon, Khymer Olaso,
Lilibeth Nuño, Cary John Pioc, VP Elago, Gerky Valesco and Jerry
Perez. Dela Cruz and the younger Dalipe ran under Climaco’s political
party, but eventually broke off ties after winning the 2019 polls and aligned
themselves with Lobregat’s Team Colorao. Climaco defeated Lobregat in the
election after winning a landslide victory over the veteran politician.
There were reports that Lobregat will again run for mayor and also the
elder Dalipe with his brother possibly gunning for a congressional seat. Or
Dalipe to seek re-election in the congressional race with his younger brother running
for the mayoralty post.
Climaco vowed to provide more
assistance to tens of thousands of beneficiaries of her various pro-poor Vida
programs, especially the elderly and the poor, and the disadvantage sector,
including people with disabilities, among others.
The mayor said the Vida programs really
aimed to create a more lasting and meaningful impact on the lives of all its
beneficiaries. “We need to empower our people and create a more lasting and
meaningful impact on their lives, their families and communities. Deseo de atun
todo dale mas largo y buen vida na de atun maga abuelo y abuela na Ciudad de
Zamboanga,” she said.
“It is with deep regret that
(opposition) majority of the members of the City Council resolutely removed
vital appropriations in the FY (Fiscal Year) 2021 Executive Budget of the City Government
of Zamboanga. Very important social services programs such as the Largo Vida,
Salva Vida and Cuida Vida, which could have benefited senior citizens, low
income families, disadvantaged communities, marginalized sectors, most affected
families of the Covid-19 pandemic and other vulnerable members of society, were
unfoundedly scrapped,” she added.
Climaco said the actions of the
Lobregat-Dalipe allies in the City Council have affected some 17,000 senior
citizens and all 400 “Vida lifeliners,” including women and those who are
out-of-school and mostly breadwinners of their families, who were tapped to
tirelessly deliver health assistance door-to-door to every elderly
beneficiaries of the Largo Vida.
“These (Vida) programs were
carefully planned by the Executive Department to be sustainable and to
introduce a trailblazing brand of service to our constituents that is projected
to have a significant impact in the lives of the target beneficiaries. These
programs cannot be replaced by mere dole-outs and cash donations that were not
studied and haphazardly thought-out. Those (opposition council) members who
voted to remove funding for such vital programs must face the people of
Zamboanga City and must be held responsible and accountable for such irrepressible
action,” she said.
“It is not just cash that is
needed, we need a more comprehensive program that will genuinely and
sustainably empower our people through medicines, access to critical social
services and livelihood to make our people resilient and survive the day to day
challenges while we are under a pandemic. Necesita kita dale servicio de
calidad because our people deserve only the best,” the mayor added.
It is only during the time of
Climaco that such programs and social services benefitted thousands of senior
citizens and the vulnerable sector.
“It is only during our
administration that we were able to introduce a wide-range of social services
to our senior citizens – birthday cash incentives, free maintenance medicines,
free movie screening and other key forms of assistance.”
“We intend to expand these to a
more comprehensive package, not only for our senior citizens, but also social
packages for other vulnerable sectors especially for our society’s patriarchs
and matriarchs, PWDs (persons with disabilities) and other vulnerable sectors,
the marginalized, low-income families in disadvantaged rural and urban
communities and most affected families of the Covid-19 pandemic, who are in
need of these social protection programs, now more than ever,” Climaco
said.
Largo Vida
The
Largo Vida program was supposed to originally get P187 million from the 2021
Executive Budget and also part of the local government’s social services is the
“Ayuda La Vida program,” which would have P65 million budget to provide various
sectors with livelihood programs, including those in the night market and
“ukay-ukay” stall owners.
On the
other hand, the “Cuida Vida program” or Soup Kitchen Program was originally to
get P50 million allocation to cover mobile feeding initiative in a bid to
sustain the daily meals of the marginalized and most affected families of the
Covid-19 pandemic.
An
allocation of P50 million was also included in the budget for the “Salva Vida”
program which is intended to provide food packs and hygiene kits to low-income
families in disadvantaged rural and urban communities in the different
barangays. The original budget likewise allocated P15 million for outreach
programs to the 98 barangays, and P100 million for socialized housing programs.
And
another P50 million for “Siembra Vida program” intended to provide training,
livelihood and caravan projects, including activities of the agri-fishery
sector; and a total of P906 million for investments in infrastructure and
developmental projects. But all these were gone because the opposition
councilors did not want it to continue. (Zamboanga Post)
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