CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – “It’s the least thing we can do to repay them for their heroism.”
Gov. Lilia G. Pineda said of war veterans and military retirees at the symposium-medical mission held for them Monday at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center here.
The “heroes” and their immediate families availed themselves of medical check-ups, including ECGs, psychiatric counselling, cardiac consultations, eye checkup, dental services and prescription medicines provided by the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).
A help desk was also provided where concerns of veterans regarding pensions, IDs and documents re-validation were processed.
In her brief remarks, former president 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recalled how she was treated “as a patient and not as a prisoner” at the VMMC while she was confined there.
This, even as she thanked the VMMC for the outreach mission for her cabalens. She said that veterans need all the medical support from government, given that their pensions and other benefits fall much short of keeping up with the soaring costs of hospitalization and medicines.
The War Veterans and AFP Retirees Symposium and Medical Mission was aimed at updating the veterans and their dependents on the new programs and services at VMMC as well as providing on-site medical services to them.
Dr. Dominador Chiong, Jr., VMCC medical professional staff , said there is a “clamor to build more VMMC hospitals in Mindanao, Visayas and in Luzon outside Metro Manila to enable other veterans easy access to hospital services.”
“For now, the VMMC is partnering with government and private hospitals for ways to cater to the needs of veterans,” he said.
According to Chiong, there are some 17,000 living World War II veterans and 424,000 AFP retirees and their dependents in the whole country that are entitled to healthcare benefits.
Every year, about 5,000 retirees are being added on the list, he added. The provincial government provided food packs to those who attended the symposium and medical mission.
