Davao City: The City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) announced that it has distributed nearly PHP300 million in annual financial assistance to 166,663 senior citizens in the city.

According to Philippines News Agency, Ruth Naive, the focal person of the Senior Citizen Welfare Program, stated in a radio interview that all elderly beneficiaries received PHP1,500 each as their 2024 subsidy. Preparations for the grant of 2025 financial assistance are underway. Naive mentioned that they are working closely with the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) to begin the payout process for the 2025 budget by August, maintaining the standard subsidy at PHP1,500 per senior citizen.

Naive also highlighted that OSCA is undertaking efforts to clean its master list by removing duplicate entries, deceased seniors, and those with identical OSCA numbers. She urged seniors to update their identification cards, particularly those issued in 2022 and earlier, to assist in the master list cleansing efforts. Although there is no fixed deadline for updating ID cards for existing beneficiaries, Naive clarified that seniors who turned 60 in the previous year have a specific deadline for their registration.