SENIOR CITIZENS and their kin have praised Zamboanga Mayor Beng Climaco for putting the welfare of the elderly in the priority list of the local government’s pro-poor program.
The program’s beneficiaries, especially the centenarians, receive as much as P50,000 cash which is the local government’s share to the aid senior citizens received from the Department of Social Welfare and Development pursuant to the Republic Act 10858 or the Centenarian Act of 2016.
Nonagenarians or those who are 90-99 years old also receive P20,000 and for octogenarian or residents who are 80-89 years old get P10,000. This cash incentive seeks to ensure that senior citizens will have funds to buy basic necessities such as medicines.
The distribution of cash aid is being led by the City Social Welfare and Development Office and the Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs in collaboration with the local chapter of the Federation of Senior Citizens Association of the Philippines.
Climaco, true to her promise to help the elderly and the poor, is set to introduce the new Buen Vida Program that will benefit tens of thousands of people in Zamboanga City. The new program, she said was borne to help the most vulnerable in the community after opposition councilors killed the local government’s Vida programs.
“Recognizing the need to continuously support senior citizens, especially the most vulnerable, while also acknowledging the form of support desired by the people, we will propose the Buen Vida Program that aspires to be a more comprehensive support program to our senior citizens while also addressing the need for employment of the most affected sectors of the community,” she said.
Climaco explained the Buen Vida Program is comprised of the following components - Provision of Direct-to-Home Medicines; Local Social Pension Program; Job Generation; and Production of multi-purpose Senior Citizen ID with ATM/ Debit Card Functionality. The Buen Vida Program targets the indigent and marginalized senior citizens being the most effected sector in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Citing various data, Climaco said around 30,000 indigent senior citizens are not receiving any form of social pension from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and not even from Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System, and also not gainfully employed or receiving income from any business or livelihood.
And under her proposed Buen Vida Program, Climaco said indigent senior citizens shall be given P6,000 or equivalent to P500 per month for 12 months as social pension and additionally, some 30,000 senior citizens with medical conditions shall be regularly provided with direct-to-home medicines and vitamins. Qualified beneficiaries shall be determined by the City Social Welfare and Development Office.
And to manage the distribution of medicines and proper administration of the Buen Vida Program, the mayor said the local government will hire some 600 displaced workers and will be called “Buen Vida Lifeliners.”
“Additionally, around 62,000 multi-purpose ID/ATM cards shall be produced and distributed to beneficiary senior citizens that may be used for easy assistance provision, identification, including the administration of Covid-19 vaccines,” Climaco said, adding, the beneficiaries shall be enrolled to a bank and whose account will serve as basis for the issuance of an ID/ATM card that may also function as a privilege card.
She said the issued cards shall also function as identification cards of the beneficiaries that will provide them access to government programs such as cash assistance, discounts, free movie passes, free parking space, pharmacy loyalty points, medical check- ups and health assistance, and free doses of Covid-19 vaccines. The project may help minimize public health risks for senior citizens by no longer exposing them in crowded events such as distribution of cash assistance.
“Senior Citizens with morbidities and medical conditions shall be eligible to receive the medicines and vitamins under Buen Vida Program. The 17,000 beneficiaries under Largo Vida Program shall be automatically enrolled in the Buen Vida Program, while another 13,000 senior citizens with medical conditions shall also be served,” Climaco further said.
The Buen Vida is projected to have a total appropriation of P367 million covering all four components of the humanitarian and pro-poor program. “Our plan is clear and the purpose is to sincerely help our people. May we all rally behind this proposed new program and work across the aisle for the sake of our people who need these the most,” Climaco said.
“We live in extraordinary and challenging times that push us beyond our limits, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Kindness and compassion keep us focused on our purpose which is to be of service to others. It motivates us to be better public servants, and inspires us to go above and beyond duty. It grounds us on realities and the challenges we face while also allowing us to hope and dream for better days ahead. Let us set aside our differences and unite in redesigning and re-imagining Zamboanga City because the future we envision looks promising,” she added.
Climaco blamed the opposition councilors - who are political allies of defeated mayoralty candidate Celso Lobregat and Representative Mannix Dalipe - for killing all the Vida Programs of the local government after they removed vital funding in the 2021 Executive Budget. One such program is the Largo Vida, an initiative that Climaco started in 2018 and which she intends to expand to over 60,000 beneficiaries this year.
She identified the opposition councilors as Monsi dela Cruz, 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. There were reports that Lobregat will again run for mayor and also the elder Dalipe with his brother possibly gunning for a congressional seat.
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. (Zamboanga Post)
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