All praises for ‘Congresswoman’ Beng

SENIOR CITIZENS have praised Mayor Beng Climaco for the birthday cash gifts they received and for how she always prioritizes the elderly and the vulnerable sectors, especially at this time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mayor Beng Climaco displays a gesture of humility after an elderly Muslim woman approached and thanked her for the birthday cash gift she received recently. (Bong Serondo)

Climaco, now on her third and last term, is running for congresswoman in District 1. 

The cash gift was facilitated by the City Social Welfare and Development Office and is only one of the many privileges that senior citizens enjoy under the Climaco administration’s pro-poor programs.

Those who received their cash gifts were from the different barangays and also members of the Federation of Senior Citizens Association of the Philippines. 

A video clip on Climaco’s Facebook page showed senior citizens taking turns in praising and thanking the mayor for the cash gifts they received. The two-minute clip can be accessed on this link: https://fb.watch/b22-tomDOL/ 

Maria Cinco, from Barangay Zone 1, said: “Muchas gracias gat Mayor Beng, bien happy gat yo, kami todo mga senior citizens aqui na Zone 1. All barangays here in Zamboanga City bien alegre gayot cay te recivi kami el birthday gift incentives every year. Muchas gracias, thank you very much.”

Another woman said: “Nalipay, nalipay kami basin gagmay. Ako 64, makadawat ko P500 lipay na kaayo kay yawat na para sa amua pan-tambal na lang. Madam Beng salamat kaayo sa incentive.”

And one Muslim woman also thanked Climaco and said: “Masayang-masaya kami ngayon at nabigyan kami. Hindi namin ma-describe ang aming saya. Tignan mo na lang at ang dami-dami namin dito ngayon.”

Senior citizens whose ages are 60 to 69 received P500; P700 for ages 70 to 79; P800 for ages 80 to 90; P1,500 for 91 to 94 years old; and P2,000 for ages 95 to 99.

The assistance given to senior citizens could have been more had not the opposition councilors who are allies of Rep. Mannix Dalipe and former lawmaker Celso Lobregat “killed” the Largo Vida program of Climaco which was the assistance intended for senior citizens and the disadvantaged sectors of the community.

Climaco identified the opposition councilors as Monsi dela Cruz (now deceased); John Dalipe, BG Guingona, Mike Alavar, Litlit Macrohon, Khymer Olaso, Lilibeth Nuño, Cary John Pioc, VP Elago, and Jerry Perez. 

Dela Cruz and the younger Dalipe ran under Climaco’s political party, but eventually broke off ties with the mayor after winning the 2019 polls and aligned themselves with Lobregat’s Team Colorao only to split with the group. Climaco defeated Lobregat in the last election after winning a landslide victory over the veteran politician. 

But despite the demise of the Largo Vida program, senior citizens and their families continue to praise Climaco for her unwavering support to the welfare of the elderly, and those who received the aid said “Beng is a blessing to us.” 

Last September, a 100-year old woman from Barangay Cabatangan received a total of P50,000 from Climaco as counterpart of the local government’s incentives to senior citizens under Republic (Centenarians of 2016) Act 10868 which honor and grant additional benefits and privileges to centenarians. 

Climaco personally went to the house of Angelina Santos and handed her P30,000 covering the last payment of the incentive. The mayor was accompanied by Councilor Pinpin Pareja and social workers. 

Santos’ family thanked Climaco for the incentive, saying the money will greatly help them, especially at this time of the Covid-19 pandemic. She initially received P20,000 from the mayor in July last year.

Aside from the birthday cash gifts, Climaco continues to distribute cash incentives to octogenarians and nonagenarians. The granting of incentives is pursuant to a local ordinance and one of the numerous benefit packages for senior citizens unveiled only during the Climaco administration. 

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. She also assured her administration’s support and various benevolent programs for the elderly sector.  

Nonagenarians or those whose ages are from 90-99 years are to receive P20,000 each, and P10,000 each to octogenarians who are 80-89 years old. 

The City Social Welfare and Development Office and the City Treasurer’s Office facilitate the distribution of the incentives to beneficiaries of the program in coordination with the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs and the Federation of Senior Citizens Association of the Philippines.

Climaco said the actions of the opposition 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. 

“Those (opposition councilors) 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.”

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)