The Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) officially launches the ‘Sagip Paningin para kay Lolo at Lola at Center’ for Persons with Disabilities (CPWD) on January 24, 2024 in Cotabato City. (Comenei Ali/BIO)
COTABATO CITY—Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) officially launched on Jan. 24, the ‘Sagip Paningin para kay Lolo at Lola’—one of the Ministry’s flagship programs that aims to address the visual health needs of indigent Bangsamoro senior citizens.
Pioneering in Cotabato City, the program further seeks to empower older people to actively engage in their day-to-day activities, read, socialize, and navigate their surroundings effectively, which is essential to fostering their well-being.
“Many of our indigent older persons need professional assistance, and the deficiencies in their visual capacities ought to be addressed,” said MSSD Minister Atty. Raissa Jajurie.
Among the requirements needed are valid identification cards (IDs); a certificate of eligibility for the program, obtained through the assessment of social workers upon the verification of the beneficiaries’ economic status; and, if necessary, medical certificates, indicating the necessity for eyeglasses.
Additionally, the renaming of the Center for the Handicapped, now known as the Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPWD), transpired during the event.
According to Minister Jajurie, MSSD renamed the center to use terminology that is more inclusive and shows more respect and value to persons with disabilities.
Offering its beneficiaries vocational and social rehabilitation for over 32 years, the CPWD seeks to advance PWDs’ self-reliance as vital citizens of the country.
Jajurie said that the Ministry’s commitment not only centers on the continuation of the care facility’s operations but also on providing more and better services.
Likewise, MSSD Bangsamoro Director-General Atty. Mohammad Muktadir Estrella stressed that the positive impact of the CPWD is a product of Bangsamoro PWDs’ decades worth of struggles.
He added, “What social work has taught us is the importance of looking at the person as a ‘Human First’ more than anything else.”
Focusing on the self-sustaining and inclusive development of the Bangsamoro senior citizens, PWDs, and other vulnerable sectors falls under the 12th priority agenda of BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim. (Johamin Inok/BIO)
