DAGUPAN CITY – Elective officials in
Pangasinan should take a serious look in Valenzuela City’s program on senior
citizens.
Valenzuela City mayor Sherwin Gatchalian said
that these citizens are largely
ignored, taken for granted and seen as burden in a society which puts premium
in youth.
“But not in Valenzuela City, where they’re
getting the attention and respect due them,” he stressed.
Showing its care and concern for its old
population, Valenzuela City is set to launch its own senior citizen center
that will cater to the needs of the aged and abandoned senior citizens.
“We are supposed to honor our fathers and
mothers. That is our Filipino culture. We take care of the old and the aged
and provide them the best service that we can,” Gatchalian said.
In the scheme of things, he pointed out that
concerns involving senior citizens are generally overlooked since they are
seen more as burdens to society.
On the other hand, social services of many
local government units are focused towards the young, those children in
conflict with the law and women issues.
While such issues demand priority attention,
Gatchalian said problems involving the old and the aged should also get
consideration.
“We should not look at them as liabilities.
They deserve our respect and care, ” he said.
Gatchalian observed that there are many senior
citizens who lived in the streets, sickly and abandoned by their families.
Extreme poverty has pushed these family
members to forsake their aged family members.
“These people also have dignity. In Valenzuela
City, we want them to reclaim that dignity,” he said.
Gatchalian said the city government has
entered into a tie-up with a religious sector to operate the senior citizens
center to be put up by Valenzuela City.
He said the center will be launched next
month.
Housing and shelter is one of the major
cornerstones of Gatchalian’s public service programs.
Recently, the city government opened the
Disiplina Village, an in- city resettlement for informal settlers who were
victims of typhoon Ondoy.About
600 families will be beneficiaries of the project, where tenants will only pay
P300 month for the rent of their 23 square-meter condo units or an equivalent
of only P10/day (MCO)..
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