QC designates converging area for elderly, PWDs

THE local government of Quezon City is pushing for a converging area for senior citizens and persons with disability (PWDs). The Quezon City Council passed a resolution requesting barangays and homeowners’ associations (HOA) in charge of city-built covered courts to prioritize senior citizens and PWDs in using these places as a converging area for their physical, moral and social well-being.

Quezon City has 142 barangays and a population of about 3 million, 51,000 of whom are considered PWDs.

Authored by Councilor Melencio Castelo Jr., City Resolution 7487-2018 requests all barangays, HOA and other entities in charge of the administration of city-built covered courts and areas in the city to give priority to senior citizens and PWDs in using these as points of convergence from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., Monday to Friday, free of charge.

“It’s very important to have a converging area for the senior citizens and PWDs because there are barangays here in our city with no sufficient areas to converge,” Quezon City Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs (Osca) personnel officer Erlinda Bañego said in an interview on Thursday.

Based on Osca statistics, 375,000 senior citizens live in Quezon City.

“In our place in Barangay Tatalon, we could not use the facilities of the barangay hall. Hence, we hold our meetings on the street and conduct physical fitness activities,” Bañego added.

The resolution noted it is the policy of the government to extend full support for the betterment of the physical, moral and social well-being of senior citizens and PWDs in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act 7432, or the “senior citizen law” as amended, and R A 7277, or the “Magna Carta for Disabled Persons,” as amended.

“Senior citizens and PWDs should be provided an area in their barangay or community that will serve as their converging area in order to nurture and foster their capacity and ability to attain a more meaningful and productive life,” the resolution added. PNA