With figures from the Longitudinal Study of Aging and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP) showing an upward trend in the number and percentage of senior citizens in the country, a senior lawmaker is pushing for the establishment of a geriatric hospital and additional senior citizen benefits.
Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. said that Congress should be guided by the words of Psalm 71:9: “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.”
“In the twilight of their lives, our senior citizens should be able to rely not just on their families, but also on the state. Having served as productive members of society, they have earned the right to rest, retire, and live the rest of their days free from sickness and stress,” he said.
Speaking last Tuesday at the Policy Priorities for Dignified Aging Webinar organized by the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, Abante said that the data from the LSAHP and the findings of a study on late-life depression “confirm what senior citizens advocates have long feared: that due to their age, Filipinos aged 60 and above are far less healthy and economically-secure than the younger, working-age Philippine citizens.”
He said the indicators in the studies presented at the CPBRD webinar “reinforce the case for better care, increased benefits, and special programs to address the concerns of our senior citizens.”
“I feel that the greatest concerns of most of them that need to be addressed with urgency are financial assistance, mobility, medical and health care, and recreational and health activities, which may ultimately address the issues of stress and depression among them,” said Abante.
The lawmaker said that “the need to provide our senior citizens with specialized care due to their inherent vulnerabilities is the rationale behind my decision to re-file a measure that would establish the National Center for Geriatric Health and Research Institute—a health-care facility that is especially suited for the particular needs of our senior citizens.”
The legislator was referring to House Bill Number 191, or the Geriatric Health Act, which also mandates the creation of regional geriatric specialty centers in DOH-retained hospitals. A similar measure was passed on third reading towards the end of the 18th Congress, but it was not tackled in the Senate due to time constraints.
Aside from HB 191, Abante also filed HB 4543: An Act Increasing and Expanding the Benefits Granted to Senior Citizens.
“In recognition of the services they have provided throughout their lives for our nation’s development and being the living memory of our history, it is just appropriate to extend some specific benefits and privileges to all senior citizens, whether indigent or not,” the solon explained.
Under the proposed measure, senior citizens would be entitled to monthly stipends from P1,000 up to P5,000, depending on their age brackets.
HB 4543 would also mandate senior citizens’ discounts of 30 percent for the purchase of medicines; professional fees of attending physician/s; professional fees of licensed professional health providers providing home health-care services; medical and dental services, diagnostic and laboratory fees; actual fare for land transportation and domestic air transport services and sea shipping vessels; and funeral and burial services for the death of senior citizens.
According to the LSAHP, Filipinos aged 60 and older now account for around 8.5 percent of the country’s population, which translates to more than 9 million people.
Of this number, an estimated 57 percent struggle with daily living and mobility issues.
Forecasts said that by the year 2030, about 11 percent of our country’s population will be composed of senior citizens.