COTABATO CITY (PIA) -- True to its commitment that no Bangsamoro resident shall be left behind especially those who have reach old age, the Bangsamoro government, through the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) has created a program dubbed as “Hadiya: Care Packages for Elderly Bangsamoro” that aims to provide health care packages for indigent senior citizens.

Hadiya is an Arabic term that means “gift." The first of its kind in the Bangsamoro region, the program will provide indigent senior citizens with gadgets and goods that will help them monitor their health and take care of their needs, especially those Bangsamoro senior citizens who have remained capable of supporting their families and grandchildren.

Each Hadiya (gift) package contains digital blood pressure monitor, finger pulse oximeter, temperature scanner, pillbox, two boxes of disposable facemask, liniment oil, rubbing alcohols, two packs of adult diaper, hot and cold compress device, talcum powder, mentholated rub, wooden back scratcher, two packs of powdered milk, a set of socks, towel, burn ointment, povidone-iodine, gauze bandage, surgical tape, cotton balls, band aid, and tissue rolls.

On its pilot implementation on February 14, a total of 60 senior citizens from the barangays of Simsiman, Buricain, Matilak, Binasing, Balacayon, Patot, Libungan Toreta, Datu Mantil, Kadingilan, Upper and Lower Pangangkalan, and Lower Baguer in the municipality of Pigcawayan, North Cotabato have each received the health care packages.

MSSD’s Older Persons and Persons with Disability Welfare Program focal person Sandra Macacua said the program is just one of the initiatives of the ministry to prioritize and promote the welfare and development of the senior citizens.

“This is the Ministry's way of reaching out to the elderly in the region to recognize their significant roles and contributions in building the Bangsamoro society," she stressed.

Meanwhile, MSSD Chief of Staff Lyca Therese Sarenas also emphasized that the ministry will continue to prioritize the needs of the senior citizens because they will always be a part of the BARMM government’s priority.

"The Ministry aims to augment the benefits received by senior citizens because they belong to the priority sectors in BARMM who need social protection interventions," she said.

According to MSSD, around 2,000 senior citizens across the Bangsamoro region will receive the hadiya health care package. Of these recipients, 450 will be coming from Maguindanao; 310 from Lanao del Sur A; 310 from Lanao del Sur B; 250 from Basilan; 310 from Sulu, and 250 from Tawi-Tawi.

Also included among the beneficiaries of the hadiya package are 120 elderly persons from Special Geographic Area, 95 from Cotabato City, and 95 from Marawi City. (PIA Cotabato City)