CEBU CITY - In line with the implementation of Republic Act No. 7432 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, regional offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in collaboration with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be conducting an inventory of all senior citizens officials in Central Visayas.

Shalaine Marie Lucero of DSWD 7 said that the full implementation of RA 7432 requires that each Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) in local government units (LGUs) should have active leaders to update its members on how to take advantage of the said law.

“Although most of the cities and municipalities in the region have already established OSCAs, there is a problem with some of heads of these Offices being inactive or overstaying,” she said.

The inactivity of some of these OSCAs in the region is lamented by Lucero, who pointed out that “some these offices are roughly 30 percent inactive, even as the other problem is that in some other offices, officials have been staying more than the mandated three years.”

Lucero disclosed that as soon as they can finalize an agreement with the DILG 7, an inventory of all officials who are senior citizens will commence so that each of the OSCAs will have new heads regularly updating members, with these offices also serving as venue to air grievances.

“Beneficiaries of RA 7432 are encouraged to visit OSCA offices in their area and be familiarized with the provisions of the law and how they can avail of the privileges as stipulated by said law,” she underlined.