More than 500 hearing-impaired residents of Quezon City will receive free hearing aids under a program organized under the auspices of the Quezon City Persons with Disabilities Affairs Office.
The community-based hearing impairment program aims to help hard-of-hearing indigent residents by providing them with free hearing aids. The endeavor is in partnership with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, an international group that conducts hearing impairment missions in partnership with different organizations and local government units, and the National Youth Commission.
“The hearing aids are free and customized, and when they receive their aids they get after-care as well, for instance when their aid’s battery is low they can get extra batteries,” PDAO head Arnold de Guzman said.
The program beneficiaries undergo four phases: patient identification, hearing mission, aftercare and speech test supervised by the Starkey Hearing Foundation.
“They will get customized ear molds for the hearing aid they use. Even its repair is free of charge,” Joseph Barte, Starkey Hearing Foundation assistant country coordinator for the Philippines, said.
Hearing aids will be distributed after three months of consultation and hearing loss confirmation.
“The partnership between Quezon City and Starkey Hearing Foundation is good and beneficial, especially to those who are poor and hard of hearing,” Barte added.
Meanwhile, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista has created a committee to organize the 78th Foundation Day of Quezon City in October.
Executive Order 8-2017 also created a selection board for the 2017 Manuel L. Quezon Gawad Parangal Award.
“To ensure a smooth and successful celebration of the 78th Founding Anniversary of the city, there is a need to constitute a committee that shall prepare, coordinate and initiate a synchronized series of events and activities in connection with this year’s celebration,” Bautista’s order read.
City Administrator Aldrin Cuña will chair the organizing committee while former city administrator Dr. Manuel Alba and former University of the Philippines president Emerlinda Roman will co-chair the Gawad Parangal search committee.
Commonwealth Act 502, which was signed into law by President Manuel Luis M. Quezon on October 12, 1939, created Quezon City.