DUPAX DEL NORTE, Nueva Vizcaya (PIA) -- The local government of Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya has distributed a total of P413,000 cash assistance to its senior citizens here.
At least 383 beneficiaries received P1,000 each as a birthday gift while Romana Galanta, 100 years old of Barangay Bitnong and the only centenarian in the group, was given P30,000.
Mayor Timothy Cayton said the program is in addition to the government’s social pension for senior citizens from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
He said the LGU assistance also covers those receiving the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, and Philippine Veterans Affairs Office as a local social safety net for the town’s elderly who need medicines, vitamins, and other needs to cushion the effects of disasters.
“This is the comprehensive program of the LGU for all senior citizens of Dupax del Norte. The Sangguniang Bayan is also planning to amend the ordinance for senior citizens so that septuagenarians will be included as beneficiaries,” Cayton said.
The LGU of Dupax del Norte has been considered by Novo Vizcayanos as ‘Bayan ng Ayuda’ (Town of Assistance) due to its ordinances designed to provide financial assistance to various sectors of the municipality.
Romana Galanta (in wheelchair), a centenarian from Barangay Bitnong, Dupax Del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya, receives P30,000 cash assistance form the local government. (Photo courtesy of LGU Dupax Del Norte)
Some of the sectors that were covered by the LGU’s loop of yearly financial assistance were annual financial assistance and assistive devices for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), children with special needs, solo parents, ‘Kasambahays’ (Housemaids) Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials, barangay treasurers, secretaries, college students, organizations and cooperatives, purok officials, lupons (barangay justice system members) and tanods (village guards).
Others were local rice farmers, COVID-19 victims, government internship program beneficiaries; local ‘Tulong Pangkabuhayan para sa mga Displaced’ workers; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer organizations; daycare workers, and public elementary and secondary schools, among others.
Cayton attributed the sustained financial assistance to the various sectors of their town to the strong support of the local sanggunian. (OTB/BME/PIA NVizcaya)
