DAET, Camarines Norte (PIA) -- The provincial government of Camarines Norte has implemented an ordinance granting cash gifts to senior citizens and persons with disabilities on their birthdays.

Provincial Ordinance 33-22 mandates the provincial government to give P1,000 cash gift to senior citizens and PWDs on their birth dates to make them feel valued and cared for by the government.  

Board Member John Carlo De Lima, who authored the ordinance, said that the ordinance's primary purpose is to demonstrate love and support to families while celebrating the birthday of their elderly or PWD loved ones.

This month, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office's (PSWDO) gift presenters were stationed in the municipalities of San Vicente, Talisay, and San Lorenzo Ruiz to add a reason for the birthday celebrants there to be happy.

The PSWDO has set a target of providing financial presents to 3,458 senior citizens and 675 PWDs in these areas, including 63-year-old Romeo San Juan of Man-Ogob, San Vicente and Ma. Pramela Ann Silvio, a PWD from Sto. Niño, Talisay.

San Juan and Silvio thanked the provincial government for the “wonderful birthday gift.” 

According to Marcial Angelo Delfinado, the focal person of PSWDO for its programs for older persons and PWDs, more than 21,000 senior citizens and 10,000 PWDs in 132 barangays across the province have already received financial gifts from the PSWDO. (RBM-PIA5/Camarines Norte)