Mayor Michael Rama on Thursday reiterated his position that vulnerable sectors like the senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWD), and the poor should receive financial assistance from the city government without being required to cast their vote on May 9.
In a press briefing, Rama said “it has never been a policy of his administration” to require recipients of any forms of aid from the government to vote, even as he acknowledged individuals’ right to choose their leaders on the election day.
“PWDs, senior citizens, stimulus assistance beneficiaries should be distributed because that’s people’s money. That will have to be released by May 13,” Rama said.
He said over PHP100 million worth of assistance is due for distribution after the election.
The mayor made the clarification following reports quoting an official of the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) as saying around 92,000 city senior citizens will be required to vote in order to qualify for their aid.
Rama said as long as the elderlies retain their registration with the Commission on Elections as voters – a requirement under the City Ordinance No. 2453 – they are still qualified to receive the assistance.
The city is giving out PHP12,000 financial assistance per year for every qualified senior citizen.
Meanwhile, the mayor said an investigation is ongoing to determine the liability of the OSCA official who told the media that elderlies should vote to receive assistance.
He also said he already instructed the city treasurer and city administrator to begin processing of the documents needed for the immediate release of the city’s financial assistance under the different programs for the vulnerable sectors.
Source: Philippines News Agency
Source: Philippines News Agency
