COVID-19 Crisis: DILG urges LGUs to sign up non-tech savvy senior citizens for vaccination

Here in the Philippines, senior citizens are a priority group of people for COVID-19 vaccines and in order to avail of such vaccines, registration is the first step (which goes the same for others). Once the registration has been done, the local organizers will have to maintain the records, look closely and sort out the senior citizens whom they will contact and inform them of the slots scheduled for them.

While Internet access is widely available in the Philippines, there are still senior citizens who cannot get themselves registered digitally (online registration) not only because of the lack of access (or lack of hardware) but because they are not familiar with the digital ways and processes. In the City of Las Piñas, vaccine registration can be done digitally or manually. Check out the details right here. If other cities don’t offer manual registration at all, then their senior citizens who have no Internet access or are not oriented with computers/gadgets are in a major disadvantage and may have been left behind.

In relation to this, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) urged local government units (LGUs) to come up with ideas to help the disadvantaged senior citizens get registered. Posted below is the excerpt from the Philippine News Agency (PNA) article. Some parts in bold…

Local government units (LGUs) should find a way to register seniors, who are non-tech savvy and without access to the internet, for a Covid-19 vaccination schedule, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said.

“The LGUs must help our seniors who do not know how to use high-tech gadgets. Find the ways on how to register them immediately even manually so that they can avail themselves of the vaccines,” Año said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) Wednesday.

While many older adults have access to the internet and are tech-savvy, others are not and have a hard time navigating vaccination registration websites set up by LGUs.

“Kung kinakailangan i-house-to-house sila (If needed, LGUs should conduct house-to-house visitations to register them) then so be it,” Año said.

Since the start of the vaccination rollout last March, among the groups prioritized for inoculation are senior citizens or under the A2 category.

So there you have it! DILG Eduardo Año made a pitch to the LGUs to literally go the extra mile to help the senior citizens who could not get registered digitally. It should be noted that there are some senior citizens who are bedridden or are physically disadvantaged and could not get themselves registered online. Also remember that some websites designed for online registration might not be user-friendly enough for senior citizens and others who are just starting using the Internet.

In ending this article, let me ask you these questions: Is your local government unit doing enough to get disadvantaged people registered for COVID-19 vaccines? Do you know any senior citizen in your local community who badly needs help on getting registered? Have you thought about assisting senior citizens (who are not oriented with computers and online processes) to get registered? Is your local government unit offering manual registration? Is your barangay offering assistance to senior citizens who are unable to get registered? Did anyone from the LGU or your barangay send representatives to your local community to help the unregistered senior citizens get registered?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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COVID-19 Crisis: Muntinlupa City Government turns over 2,557 laptops, 28 photocopiers to public school teachers

The City Government of Muntinlupa provided laptops and photocopiers for public school teachers in a bid to help them adapt to distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi led a ceremonial turn-over ceremony of the first batch of 2,557 laptops and 28 photocopiers to Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Dominico Idanan and other school principals yesterday.

All Muntinlupa public school teachers in elementary, junior and senior high schools, including school heads, will each receive a brandnew laptop with specifications prescribed by the Department of Education.

Public schools are also set to receive photocopiers to aid in the printing of modules for the distance learning modality being implemented in the “new normal” of education in the country.


Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi (4th from left) leads a ceremonial turn-over ceremony of 2,557 laptops and 28 photocopiers for public school teachers to Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Dominico Idanan (3rd from left) and other school principals last October 8. The local government of Muntinlupa will also provide tablets to public school students in the coming weeks in a bid to help them adapt to distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (source – Muntinlupa PIO)

“The City Government of Muntinlupa will continue to support our teachers and students to adapt to the changes of the education system, no one will be left behind. We will ensure that everyone can access all kinds of learning modalities whether online or offline,” Fresnedi said.

Further, students who are in need will also receive tablets to help them access online learning resources. The City Government awaits the delivery of the devices to be distributed to the students. Fresnedi added that the city’s scholarship program will continue to be a priority of the City Government.

Muntinlupa Scholarship Program (MSP) acting chief Alvin Veron assured the public of the continuity of the local government’s scholarship program despite academic calendar shift and changes in teaching modalities.

The scholarship program chief said MSP will synchronize its services with the new academic calendar and noted that there will be adjustments with the distribution of allowance. MSP also plans to implement a cashless disbursement of scholarship allowance starting with Senior High School students.

Muntinlupa City offers a comprehensive educational assistance program with over 71,000 scholars in elementary to college, including technical-vocational, graduate, law and medicine schools.

Elementary and alternative learning system students in Muntinlupa receive an allowance of up to P4,000 per year. For junior high school students, the local government provides up to P5,000, while senior high school students receive up to P6,000 per year.

Further, State Universities and Colleges students, including beneficiaries of Continuing Assistance for Reintegrating Students Program, receive a maximum incentive of up to P10,000 per semester depending on their academic performance. Other cash assistance are given to different scholarship categories.

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Latest City Government of Muntinlupa details sourced from their official media release. Some parts were edited for this website.

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