DSWD eyes ‘home for the aged’ in Region I

LAOAG CITY—A home care facility for the aged will soon rise in San Juan, La Union courtesy of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Office.

The facility’s initial construction phase budget of PHP12 million and will be located Sta. Rosa de Lima St. Ili Norte. It will cater to the needs of abandoned, ailing senior citizens and those neglected by relatives due to financial difficulties.

DSWD asst. regional director for administration Nora D. Dela Paz said the proposed home for the elderly in Region 1 is “a long-awaited dream now being turned into a reality with the help of the national government”.

After its completion, the regional office said they will prioritize abandoned, neglected, unattached, homeless and abused senior citizens.

Meanwhile, DSWSD Region I operations and programs division chief Benjamin Baldo disclosed that the lot was located and identified more than 20 years ago but it is only this year that the national government approved its funding.

In a statement, the San Juan local government unit represented by executive assistant Oscar Ganaden Jr. welcomed this development.

“We are very lucky in San Juan to have this project. We hope that we will be able to give the necessary care and respect to our grandfathers and grandmothers as they reach their twilight years,” he said.

“Filipino families are known to have close ties but due to changing culture, some families are becoming more nuclear”, said Ranilo Ipac, La Union provincial social welfare and development officer.

In a DSWD survey conducted three years ago, Mr. Ipac noted that found at least 700 senior citizens living by themselves in La Union alone. He said the same situation is also prevalent in parts of the Ilocos provinces and Pangasinan.

Under a memorandum of agreement, the La Union provincial social welfare and development office under DSWD Region 1’s technical supervision will manage the two-storey residential care facility for the aged.

For his part, DSWD Regional Director Marcelo Nicomedes Castillo is hopeful other provinces in the region will also host their own facility soon. (Leilanie G. Adriano)

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