Make it easy for the elderly

With Cebu City Hall’s employees assured of receiving a P20,000 Christmas bonuses, even if only half is released before the year ends, it’s only fair that the city’s senior citizens get some financial joy as well.

Last week’s distribution of P4,000 for each registered senior left much to be desired in terms of convenience for the city’s elderly.

Cash releases at the barangay level ran short in several neighborhoods.

That forced several hundred elderly to walk up to the third floor of City Hall the following Monday to wait in line again.

It didn’t take long for Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to take notice of their plight and intervene.

He apologized for the inconvenience, the shortages, and had to tell them to go down and wait while his staff speeded up the processing of their claims.

His soft spot for senior citizens is unquestioned. There was no hesitation in his decision to increase their annual assistance to P7,000 a year.

It would have been better, however, if the mayor had resisted the temptation to have his face emblazoned on the cash envelopes.

When he first did that “e-pal” blunder over a year ago, he said it was an oversight that wouldn’t be repeated in the next distribution.

Last Monday’s public hearing pointed out three flaws in the distribution of cash aid to the seniors.

1) Disbursing personnel, some of whom were assigned to the Cebu City Treasurer’s Office (CTO), were not bonded officers . This meant that in the event funds for the aid were lost or stolen, they were not insured from culpability.

2) Late notice to the depository banks to prepare for the cash releases . The mayor’s staffer admitted that the CTO informed the banks that they would withdraw millions for the cash allocation only a day before the activity;

3) Security measures were minimal. With CTO personnel working until dawn to count the funds, it’s a wonder they weren’t victimized by enterprising criminal elements after they brought the funds to the barangay centers.

City Hall seems to be experiementing with the setup.

After Monday’s City Hall transfer, officials had to eventually move all disbursing of cash aid back to the barangay halls.

We could only hope that City Hall learns from this year’s experience and plans out the distribution in advance.

The city’s 70,000 listed senior citizens deserve smooth, even VIP, treatment.