DAVAO CITY- The Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) is awaiting the completion of the Veterans Ward at the Southern Philippine Medical Center (SPMC) which will cater to military veterans patients.

“We have 15 beds, at least if there are veterans that will be confined in the SPMC we have the veterans ward,”  says Remedios A. Josol head of the PVAO field services extension office.

Josol said since Davao has no Veterans hospital such as the Veterans Medical Memorial Center (VMMC) in Manila they came up with the idea of having a ward at the SPMC.

The renovation costs had an allocation of P15 million. “Wala pa ang mga equipment, PVAO will also have another budget for the equipment,” Josol said.

The project was supposed to be implemented years before however, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the project. Josol said the ward is currently under construction and is about 75% completed.

“ Hopefully third quarter of the year, we are praying that it will be completed before the third quarter or fourth quarter of this year,” Josol said.

As of the present while waiting for the completion of the veterans ward the PVAO has a program where veterans admitted to PhilHealth-accredited hospitals will get hospital assistance of P1,500 per day if they are admitted to the hospital (for a maximum of 45 days in a year).

There are currently 4,815 military veterans in the Davao Region that are registered under the PVAO. Of these numbers, there are 12 surviving World War 2 veterans in the region. The oldest surviving veteran in the region is 103 years old. (PIA/RG Alama)