by: Jimmyley Guzman
PASIG CITY, (PIA) — “Magokoro” (真心), often translated as “sincerity,” “true heart,” or “uprightness,” is a Japanese concept emphasizing heartfelt sincerity and dedication in one’s actions and work.
In Pasig City, a new home that provides the best care for the elderly is now open.
The Pasig city government, led by Mayor Vico Sotto, together with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and INFIC, Inc. marked an important milestone in strengthening elderly care services in the country, especially for seniors of Pasig City.
The inauguration of Pasig Magokoro elderly care facility provides not only Japanese-style elderly care, but integrated with ‘smart care’ technology.
Sotto said that in 2019, the group presented to him their elderly care facility as well as the technology that is used in the facility.
“When I saw this, knowing also the needs of Pasig City, and our elderly, our senior citizens, and when I looked at their presentation I immediately said, we need to have this in the city of Pasig,” said Mayor Vico.
The 200-square-meter facility, located near the Pasig City General Hospital (PCGH) was designed with accessibility and safety considerations for elderly patients.
The completion of the facility was made possible despite getting stalled temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in 2022, the city government asked INFIC if they are still open to helping the city establish an elderly care facility.
“I’m very thankful because they did not hesitate, it did not take two seconds for them to say that yes, they are still very much interested in working with us in the city of Pasig. And we are very thankful and we feel very blessed that the first facility here in the Philippines is with us.”
The former COVID step-down facility was remodeled featuring handrails in bathrooms, step-free flooring, and wheelchair-accessible washstands to ensure comfort and security for elderly residents.
“We decided not to build the facility from scratch because as you know we had a step-down facility during COVID-19… So we decided to use half of the facility, and transfer it here. Of course, we had to do construction work and we had to add some things to the facility.”
Sotto said that construction works which only took five months aimed at providing the best Japanese-style care for the growing number of elderly patients in the city.
“Our goal here is for us to take care of our elderly. We know that the number of elderly citizens every year is going up… We need to be prepared. We need to make sure that we take care of our elderly.”
According to the Pasig City Public Information Office, there are around 83,000 senior citizens in the city that are registered under the city’s Office of the Senior Citizens Affair (OSCA).
The elderly facility can also serve as a referral facility for health centers for seniors who need medical attention but do not need to be admitted to the hospital. According to the city government, this will be pilot-tested in health centers located in Brgy. Pinagbuhatan. (JEG/PIA-NCR)
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