Ombud to probe ‘ghost senior citizens’

THE Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas will investigate the discovery of fake claimants of senior citizen’s financial aid Cebu City.

Assistant Ombudsman Virginia Palanca-Santiago said she docketed a complaint based on the Cebu Daily News banner story yesterday about “ghost senior citizens”.

“Why would it be difficult for concerned parties to determine whether or not senior citizens are alive or dead?” Santiago asked.

In the report, the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs revealed that more than 100 individuals continued to receive the P4,000 annual financial aid for senior citizens though the real beneficiaries were actually dead.

Releases of aid funds and ID cards for the elderly in Cebu City have been delayed because of questions raised by auditors, who are requiring a validation of lists of beneficiaries and the issuance of ID.

Santiago said a fact-finding inquiry will be made by the Ombudsman’s Office in the Visayas.

She said claimants who e duped the government may be charged with estafa.

She said those who will be found liable of lapses might be charged of malversation of public funds, misrepresentation and a violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

She said her office will coordinate with the Commission on Audit with regard to the fact-finding investigation.

Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he wants the barangays to help validate claims for senior citizen assistance instead of leaving the task to City Hall. “I am not surprised about the (existence of) ghost claimants. That is why it would be best if the cleansing process is done at the barangays,” he said.

Rama warned that he would file charges against barangay officials and even relatives of senior citizens who continue to claim the P4,000 annual fund aid on behalf of dead beneficiaries.

Guillermo Casanillo, head of the OSCA asked Mayor Rama to have a point person in the Department of Social Welfare and Services, who would focus on updating the master list of senior citizens in the city, estimated at 4,000 for proper check and balance.

“Sometimes the one who reviews the masterlist is also the one who verifies whether the benefeciaries are really suffering from a fire or some calamity. So the tendency is that the masterlines is overlooked,” he said. Ador Vincent S. Mayol, Doris C. Bongcac, Fatrick R. Tabada