Elderly, PWDs abused in Bukidnon facility
MARAMAG, BUKIDNON—A private caregiving facility that caters to the elderly and persons with disability (PWDs) had been maltreating its residents in the last three years until it was shut down by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) last week for operating without the necessary permits and licenses.
The facility was run by the Bukidnon Multi-Sectoral Services Foundation Inc. (BUMSSEFI).
According to Ian Dave Santiago of the Maramag Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO), the foundation originally operated in Kalilangan, an interior town bordering Wao, Lanao del Sur, before relocating to Purok 1 at Tuban Village in North Poblacion here.
Felix Vergara, a former town official, said through the years, the facility has become an “open secret” to many in this town with over 110,000 residents.
“Everyone knew about it. It was openly discussed in the municipal hall but nobody lifted a finger to stop it,” Vergara lamented.
Complaints
North Poblacion village chief John Andre Lalaan said the facility and its owners had been the subject of complaints from the neighborhood.
“The residents complained about how the [in-house clients] yell that they are hungry. They also complained about the stench from the facility reaching their houses,” Lalaan said.
He said the owners would make amends and promise to fix these problems. “[But] each time, they broke that promise,” he said.
When DSWD Northern Mindanao personnel, accompanied by MSWDO staff and police served the closure order on the facility on Oct. 10, Santiago said the stench of human waste and urine greeted them.
They also found that the 17 residents of the facility at that time were assigned dirty and messy rooms, and they were generally living under squalid conditions.
The DSWD transferred the residents to a state-run residential care facility in Manolo Fortich town. They reportedly came from Balingasag and Laguindingan towns and Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental province, Cagayan de Oro City, and several towns in Bukidnon.
Rescued
The family of each client reportedly shells out at least P6,000 monthly to provide for their care needs.
Santiago said a foundation official, identified as Myrna Sun, would come to the MSWDO to ask for medicines or seek advice on how to treat a certain kind of disease, leading them to believe that the facility had not hired the services of any doctor, nurse and professional caregiver for their residents.
The DSWD said earlier monitoring visits by personnel revealed that BUMSSEFI had been operating without a Certificate of Registration and License to Operate and was housing clients under unsafe and hazardous conditions.
Among the violations observed were unsanitary restrooms and sleeping areas, lack of occupational safety standards and health-threatening conditions, the agency reported.
The facility also failed to maintain proper case management records and lacked qualified caregivers or professional social workers to attend to its residents, the DSWD said.
