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In observance of the Filipino Elderly Week & International Day of Older Persons
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A few days from now, on October 5, a celebration of the Sampung Ulirang Nakatatanda will take place here in Quezon City. It is the 19th consecutive year that the celebration is being held, with the objective of underlying and promoting the importance of older persons and their humble contributions to the very existence of society. Inspite or despite their age, they continue to work, continue to dream, continue to help and more importantly continue to hope!
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One of the awardees is an elderly muslim woman from Maguindanao attempting to serve the thousands of refugees, Muslims and Christians, victims of the on-going strife, her name is Bai Fatima Sinsuat, 67 yrs old. Another, a former hukbalahap who is a health worker, always available for the sick and the disabled; his name is Ernesto T. Reyes, 83 yrs old. Still another woman, Bienvenida D. Calupaz, 81 yrs old who monitors the health of over 100 tuberculosis patients while acting as a wise counsel for distressed families; another one is a shaman, Mendung Sabal, who strives patiently to preserve the culture of her tribal community through musical chants and traditional healing methods; the other one is a farmer leader, Felix Miranda Paz, 75 yrs old, who rallied people to the bishops about extending land reform and the dangers of indiscriminate mining. There is the sugar worker, Leticia Vasquez, 74 yrs old, whose son was assassinated for attempting to implement the law but continues the anti-crime crusade of her son. The other heroes are: Amparo Avendaño, 67 years old, a tireless community organizer of elder people, instrumental in establishing Botika Binhi and income generating products; Beatriz Guaño, 65 years old, a community gerontologist in an urban poor area. She is of service any time when they need her help; Perlita A. Labso, 63 years old, of Sta. Elena Camarines Norte who organized a group of elder people which started a feeding program for malnourished children; Sis. Felicitas De Lima, 74 years old, of Iriga City, founder of Fatima center for human development which houses more than 100 street children, battered woman, tribal people and anyone in need.
These are just a few many examples of our senior heroes in our country who are recognized. Others remain anonymous. Most of them perform heroic deeds that remain unnoticed on a day to day basis.
They come from Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon. They serve without any form of compensation at all, sometimes they are recognized, most of them live without. They are your own parents and grandparents who continue to pass on the values and attitudes that make us Filipinos mighty proud that they are still there for us.
At present they number seven million, destined to double in population within the next 20 years. They are the fastest growing sector of our population. While the Philippines can take great pride in its respect and almost veneration of all age, the ambiguity of thousands of older women begging in the Quiapo underpass and hundreds sleeping in Rizal Park question the validity of that cultural value. Not to mention the many of them who walk the abundant malls in metro manila sometimes lonely, desperate and desolate. We are all witnesses to this unpleasant site everywhere we go.
The past week heralded the news that hundreds of thousands of jobs abroad will open up in 2009. As it is, there are 3000 people who leave the country everyday, most of them young and the larger proportion being women. We certainly do not begrudge them, but we, consequently have the ironic situation of young Filipinos taking care of older people in Japan and Europe and the rest of the world, sending home money to take care of their own parents and grandparents. Are the remittances that bolster the economy a bit too expensive in human terms? The question has hardly been asked. It is tragic that we care for others in the world and we tend to forget our very own. A massive rural to urban migration has placed added pressure on the traditional respect for older people. Many people rush to work often leaving the elderly uncared for.
This August body has not been entirely passive to the plight of older people. There are number of bills pending in this congress to address problems of older people. We will soon pass the abolition of the Evat tax on senior citizens discounts. We welcome that relief indeed. Yet the reality is that a significant number of older people are poor, in some provinces as high as 50% and they worry less about discounts in restaurants, hotels, entertainment and airplanes. Their priority is plain survival. Bills to grant a social pension to poor older people are also pending in both houses of the legislature. We already have a committee report to that effect. Many of our senate counterparts have formalized their support to the bill led by Senator Edgardo Angara.
Every country in Asia, including Bangladesh, India and Nepal have institutionalized social pension for poor older people. Sadly, the lone exception is the Philippines. It is time that we pass the Elderly Pension Plan Bill for all our lolos and lolas.
Recent headlines in the major broadsheets state “foreign donors push cash transfers to directly fight poverty and inequality” and “plan to convert subsidy into cash for poor gains support” (PDI 9/11/08 and 8/22/08). Research on social pensions in Brazil and South Africa has led to the conclusion that social pensions lead to economic development. Since 1995, this body has earmarked 1% of the general appropriation of all government bodies for the elderly and disabled. What are these programs? Are we really implementing it? This amount in 2009 budget would suffice for a social pension for the poorest of the poor. Why don’t we just integrate it then? And thereafter implement the pension plan sooner than later.
For the sake of our most national treasure, for the sake of economic development of the country itself now is the moment to pass a social pension for the elderly poor. We could and should do it in memory of our grandparents – as a repayment of a debt of gratitude.
There are presently 7 million over 60, more women than men who are the most vulnerable. Since 1995, congress has appropriated 1% of the budget for the elderly and disabled. The 1% would be more than adequate to provide a social pension for the poorest among the elderly who number around 2 million. The Philippine government is also signatory to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to halve rather than increase poverty by 2015.
Now is the time for change. By 2050 one in five of the world’s population will be over the age of 60. Governments must start investing in and supporting older people now or their huge potential to build a better future for families and communities will not be realized as age demands action.
In the meantime, i urge President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to create the Senior Citizens Commission by signing an Executive Order for its creation. The objectives of the commission are to:
“Harness and develop senior citizens in the country in coordination with all other groups dedicated to the same mission of uplifting the plight and welfare of the elderly in the Philippines”
Also, today, I pay tribute to the 1,000 elderly persons from the Coalition of Older Persons Association of the Philippines (COPAP) representing 70 organized groups in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces and the Coalition of Services of the Elderly, inc. (COSE), two of the outstanding private sector groups who continue to work for the senior citizens’ welfare. They now fill up the gallery to support the passage this bill. THEY ARE ALL HEROES!
Mahalin, Galangin at Kalingain natin sila!
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