The Manila Department of Social Welfare Department (MDSWD) has launched a mobile service program to provide medical and financial assistance directly to homebound and bedridden senior citizens across the city.

The initiative, called "MDSWD on Wheels," targets low-income elderly residents with severe illnesses or limited mobility who are being cared for at home by their families, MDSWD Chief Jay dela Fuente said in an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE.

Dela Fuente said the program was inspired by Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso’s advocacy for senior citizens.

The goal is to locate immobile individuals in every barangay to determine what support the city government can provide to improve their quality of life.

Field workers traveling with the mobile units distribute medicines, groceries, food, and occasionally cash to meet the immediate needs of the beneficiaries.

"This is a project close to Mayor Isko because we know some of our seniors are sick and bedridden," Dela Fuente said. "The project extends government help — medicines, wheelchairs, canes, groceries, and even cash — to ease the burden on their families and let them feel their government's presence."

Since its rollout about two months ago, the program's two mobile teams have coordinated with local barangay officials to identify and visit nearly 1,000 bedridden seniors.

In addition to distributing supplies, the teams facilitate hospital referrals and transport for seniors who require formal medical examinations but have lacked access to proper healthcare.

"The scope of MDSWD on Wheels is broad because our team will even transport them to doctors if necessary to ensure these bedridden seniors receive the correct medical treatment," Dela Fuente said.

The MDSWD is the primary city agency responsible for disaster response, providing food, bedding, and evacuation shelter to Manila residents affected by fires, typhoons, and other calamities.