Benefiting the
senior citizens

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Managing Editor ANTONIETA B. LOPEZ Business Editor ODETTE MONTELIBANO Desk Editor MARY ANN BARCELONA Advertising Coordinator RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete

ANDRES R. LEONARDIA Managing Director

The Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs in Bacolod City has been almost silently promoting the interest and concerns of elderly members of the community through its various programs through the past years.

This week, the office will launch an information campaign, through a publication, that will inform and educate senior citizens and their respective families of guidelines so they can avail of discounts in special programs for them in various establishments of the city. Considering that many senior citizens are not gainfully employed and, consequently, are facing financial difficulties, the OSCA program comes as a big help for this particular sector.

What OSCA needs at this point is the conduct of a widespread information, education and communication campaign that will popularize the material and related programs so that senior citizens can avail of discounts in the market as they purchase basic food commodities and medicines. It must also campaign for members of this sector to make sure they have the necessary PSCA documents before they become beneficiaries of the program. The IEC program must be geared not only for the elderly but also for business establishments so that they willingly extend the privilege to the senior citizens.

We trust that this initiative to help the elderly sector will be implemented not only in Bacolod City but also in other towns and cities of the island, particularly because senior citizens who live away from the city often have less access to media and information. Senior citizens can only benefit from this assistance if they are aware of what kind of help is available and the procedures by which they can benefit from it.

OSCA deserves as much help as it can get in the popularization and promotion of programs for its target sector as well as in other activities designed to make the remaining days of elderly citizens more wholesome, comfortable and convenient.*