Pangasinan town offers assistive devices, other services to PWDs

By Hilda Austria

July 19, 2018, 8:10 pm

BAYAMBANG, Pangasinan -- The municipal government here will offer medical, dental and other services to all persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the town while indigent handicapped persons will receive assistive devices on July 23.

The activity is part of the 40th National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week and the National Disaster Resiliency Month celebration of the municipality.

“PWDs can avail of free body massage, haircut, medical and dental checkup, ear candling and they will receive nutritious food packs as well,” said Johnson Abalos of the Stimulation and Therapeutic Activity Center of Bayambang in an interview Thursday.

He added that the municipality also offers assistive devices to indigent PWDs or handicapped persons who cannot afford to buy one.

The available devices to be awarded are 50 adult wheelchairs, 20 adult walkers, 10 pediatric walkers, four pediatric wheelchairs, 10 canes and 19 crutches.

“Qualified beneficiaries are those who are indigent and below 60 years old and certified to have no capacity to (purchase) the devices. They were screened by our Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO),” he added.

Abalos disclosed that the municipal government allocated PHP500,000 from its Gender and Development fund for the project.

He also said that the Commission on Elections in the town will conduct onsite registration for the PWDs here, while the MSWDO will conduct a lecture for them on disaster resiliency.

Bayambang has a total of 690 registered PWDs since 2015.

“We are targeting to establish a Persons with Disabilities Affairs Office to further cater to their needs,” he said. (PNA)

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