June 19 cash aid: Council asks Archival to ease senior ID policy

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr. on Tuesday urged Mayor Nestor Archival to reconsider a key provision under Executive Order No. 077 that requires senior citizens to present their original Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) identification cards when claiming their quarterly financial assistance starting June 19.

Raising the issue in a privilege speech during the regular session of the City Council on June 16, Alcover argued that the city’s anti-fraud safeguards should not create additional hardships for legitimate beneficiaries, particularly elderly residents who have lost or damaged their IDs.

He asked the executive department to adopt a more compassionate and practical approach by recognizing alternative forms of identification or official OSCA certifications when a senior citizen’s identity can already be verified through government records.

READ: Cebu City tightens senior cash aid rules: What you need to know

“The objective of the program is to help qualified senior citizens, not to punish them because of poverty, illness, or circumstances beyond their control,” Alcover said in his speech.

The council later approved Alcover’s motion urging the mayor to review and reconsider the implementation of the executive order.

Review of ID requirement

During the discussion, Councilor Philip Zafra acknowledged the need for tighter verification measures but said other government-issued IDs could also help establish a beneficiary’s identity.

“The purpose of the ID is to securely verify the identity, but with the advent of technology, IDs can now [be manipulated]. This is the very reason why the executive order was issued by the mayor,” Zafra said.

He added that the city could still modify the rules to recognize other valid government-issued IDs without compromising security.

READ: Grab drivers, delivery riders to receive cash aid starting June 15

“I do understand the executive order. It is not intended to make life difficult for our senior citizens but to protect their identity,” he said.

Zafra later introduced a corollary motion respectfully requesting the executive department to consider other government-issued IDs in lieu of the OSCA ID and another motion asking the mayor and OSCA to review the roster of senior citizens and determine whether beneficiaries continue to reside in Cebu City.

The council approved both motions.

Osmeña: Only Cebu City seniors?

Presiding Officer Tomas Osmeña, meanwhile, raised a separate concern over the city’s list of beneficiaries, saying stricter validation should ensure that only Cebu City residents receive assistance.

Osmeña said he had conducted a rough survey and believed a significant number of listed beneficiaries no longer resided in the city.

“I seriously question the roster of senior citizens because I believe many of them do not live in Cebu City,” he said.

He also argued that public funds intended for Cebu City residents should not benefit people who have already established residence elsewhere.

Alcover agreed that residency concerns deserved discussion, but stressed that his immediate concern centered on seniors who might fail to claim their financial assistance on June 19 because they no longer possessed their original OSCA IDs.

“For example, akong mama nakabotar sa Pardo, nasakit siya, gibalhin sa Talisay. Namatay na akong mama. Wala na kakakuha kay dili siya ka-sign authorization, but she was part of the Cebuanos nga nagtabang sa Cebu City,” he said.

(For example, my mother voted in Pardo. She got sick and moved to Talisay. She later passed away and could no longer comply with the authorization requirements, yet she had spent her life contributing to Cebu City.)

He urged the mayor to reconsider the requirement disallowing claims without the original ID before the June 19 distribution begins.

EO 077 imposes stricter safeguards

Executive Order No. 077, signed by Archival on June 3, tightened verification procedures for Cebu City’s quarterly senior citizens’ financial assistance program.

Under the guidelines, qualified beneficiaries must personally claim their assistance and present their original OSCA-issued identification cards. The city no longer accepts authorization letters, scanned copies, or photocopied IDs.

The order also requires beneficiaries with lost IDs or record discrepancies to first secure replacement documents or certifications from OSCA before claiming their financial assistance.

The stricter rules are necessary safeguards against fraud, ghost beneficiaries, and misuse of public funds, particularly in a program that covers more than 90,000 senior citizens across Cebu City.

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