After the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases has approved a memorandum circular on social amelioration measures amid the spread of Covid-19 and the community quarantines imposed across the country, local government units—specifically the barangays—were directed to submit their existing beneficiary databases to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The DSWD needs the local listing so it can distribute social amelioration cards for the distribution of cash assistance in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The distribution of cash aid (P5,000 to P8,000) to vulnerable sectors of society such as persons with disabilities, senior citizens, pregnant mothers, homeless persons and workers in informal sectors, however, was not without some hitches. Some senior citizens, for example, were not included in the list of some barangays.
To solve this kind of a problem in the future, the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) said creating barangay registries can better prepare local governments to respond to disasters and pandemics such as the Covid-19.
In a statement, Popcom head Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez III said local governments must take a more proactive stance in ensuring the safety and protection of older persons during disasters and pandemics.
Perez said this can be done through the creation and use of the Registry of Barangay Inhabitants and Migrants (RBIM). This can be used as basis for local government interventions during crises.
“It is paramount for LGUs to have their respective databases on household population so that they can have more reliable and population-specific interventions. Locating vulnerable members of the population is the function of an efficient demographic and socioeconomic database at the community level,” Perez said.
Perez said that it’s natural that during a crisis such as the ongoing pandemic, lgus must focus on families in need to ensure the well-being of constituents.
However, Perez said elderly and senior citizens who are living alone have become doubly vulnerable with the absence of the usual support system supposedly given by their families. This is where the rbim will prove its usefulness.
Based on the latest population census in 2015, Perez said there are about 444,392 older Filipinos aged 65 years and above who are living alone. They account for 9.3 percent of all senior citizens nationwide.
Perez added that 53 percent of seniors living alone were residing in Luzon, with the largest population at 51,324 in Calabarzon region, Region 6 (Western Visayas) and Region 7 (Central Visayas) also have a significant number of seniors of the same age range, with 47,707 and 45,201, respectively.
It can be noted, Perez said, that seniors are among the vulnerable, if not the most vulnerable to Covid-19 due to their weaker health conditions. They are also prohibited from leaving their homes, preventing them from sourcing food and medicines they need to survive.
“A significant proportion of older persons are also living by themselves in Metro Manila and Central Luzon,” Perez said. “As such, their barangays and community leaders should be able to locate these individuals so that they can be provided with the appropriate support.”