The Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) in Legazpi said a total of 6,694 veterans and survivors in Bicol continue to receive benefits from the government.

During Tuesday’s Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas forum held at the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) regional office inside Camp Simeon Ola, here, Allyn Solano, PVAO Legazpi office head, said their PVAO provides monthly pensions and benefits, including free hospitalization and health services.

“For our veterans, for the pension benefits, we have old age, death, disability, and total administrative disability. For the non-pension benefits, we also provide veterans hospitalization and medical care programs, educational benefits, and burial assistance,” Solano said.

The distribution per province is as follows: Albay – 1,755; Camarines Norte – 713; Camarines Sur – 2,988; Catanduanes – 178; Masbate – 337; and Sorsogon – 723.

“They have a revalidation period or update every birth month of the pensioner to ensure that they are still alive. They need to update the pensioner’s form, or they can visit our office for biometrics,” she said.

Solano said there are still 33 veterans of World War II (WW2) alive in the Bicol Region.

“We continue to monitor our veterans. For the WW2 veterans, usually, their representatives go to the office, while the post-war veterans mostly still go to the office to update their records,” she added.

Solano added that for hospitalization, all accredited Department of Health (DOH) hospitals in the region are also accredited by their office.

She said they reimburse PHP1,500 per day, for a maximum of 15 days, for hospitalization.

In Bicol, a total of 23 family members of veterans enjoy educational benefits. (PNA)