Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan announced that barangay leaders are now in-charge of the senior citizen's payout distribution, following the complaints of senior citizens regarding their failed withdrawals from their PayMaya accounts.
In a Kalinga sa Maynila forum held in Tondo, Manila, Lacuna-Pangan acknowledged the complaints lodged before her office and Office of Senior Citizens' Affairs (OSCA) that some of the senior citizens' PayMaya accounts, created for social amelioration program (SAP) payout, are not working.
Several senior citizens also told the mayor that they tend to forget their pin numbers while others have misplaced their cards.
The mayor immediately coordinated with the barangays authorities for assistance. She said the senior citizens can now get their benefits directly from their barangay leaders.
Lacuna-Pangan said she decided to grant the requests of the senior themselves to make the process easier for them.
"Sinasabi ninyo hindi kayo makapag-withdraw sa PayMaya. Sinasabi nyo mas gusto ninyo, mano-mano kaya naman 'yon ang ginawa natin. Diretso na sa barangay ninyo ang allowance para diretso po sa inyo. Kasi, napakaraming nagpupunta sa opisina ko at nagrereklamo (You say you can't withdraw from PayMaya. You say you prefer to do it manually. Now, your allowance will go directly to your barangay leaders so you can directly receive it from them, addressing the concerns of senior citizens who come to my office and complain)," the lady mayor said.
According to the mayor, the barangay officials will hold distribution for one week to give the senior citizens more time to claim their payout.
"Dahil mas gusto kamo ninyo na matanggap na lang sa barangay ang inyong allowance kaya 'yun po ang ginawa natin... Idiniretso sa barangay at mananatili doon ng hanggang isang linggo ang mga allowance para masigurong makukuha po ninyo (Because you prefer to receive your allowance in your barangay, that's what we did. Allowances are sent directly to the barangay and will remain there for up to one week to ensure you get them)," the mayor added.