The problem with ageing

Already, more and more Filipinos are being compelled to deal with the problem of ageing in the country. Whereas 11 employed people could be counted on to support an elderly 20 years ago, the cost sharing has now been whittled down to six.

As Filipino values continue to keep the elderly as part of the family unit, the above represents an almost doubling of expense for a working family member to provide for a senior citizen’s care. Health maintenance is considered one of the biggest expenses, reaching levels that could soon be regarded as untenable.

Such social indicator change is borne by the fact that there are now more senior citizens as a percentage of the country’s population, a grim reminder that the Philippines may be headed towards an ageing conundrum more quickly than initially forecast.

At the turn of the century, polling resulted in 4.6 million Filipinos aged 60 and above, or only six percent of the population; by 2020, this number had expanded to 9.4 million or 8.6 percent of the total population. Projections for 2050 put the proportion at 16.5 percent of the population.

HelpAge International, a global network of organizations working with and for older people, presents more compelling facts: more than half of seniors in 2020 were employed, although in elementary economic activities like fishing, farming, and forestry work, while a third lived in poverty. According to the World Social Protection Report 2017-2019, less than 40 percent of the elderly received any form of old-age pension.

Protecting the elderly

The Philippine government has been issuing laws and programs that provide some social security for seniors while stressing a provision in the 1987 Philippine Constitution that states “It is the duty of the family to take care of its older person members….”

The Senior Citizens Act of 1991 has been expanded several times to improve and increase the benefits that the elderly, with special attention to the less privileged, can receive. Aside from discounts and free services, an amendment to the law in 2003 establishing a process for organizing the Office of Senior Affairs (OSCA) at the city or municipal mayor’s office paved the way for a more comprehensive system to enhance the elderly’s ability to live more productively.

But these have not been enough, as gleaned from the still large and growing numbers of elders who are not covered by social safety nets. A larger number of them are women who had been and continue to be discriminated in getting jobs.

For old women who worked solely as housewives without any salary through their prime years, the only pension allowance they can look forward to is the monthly P500 stipend issued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in 2011 through the local OSCA.

Among the many expenses that a senior citizen face, it is that for healthcare that deserves additional support from government. For an indigent, the free medical services at the barangay level is not adequate to cover for even the basic care of most ailments related to ageing. In cases where hospitalization is required, protection under the universal health care program is sorely insufficient.

Many poor senior citizens have barely enough money to undergo extensive annual check-ups, something that they regularly need at their age. More importantly, they often are unable to muster the required amounts to undergo treatment, even in government hospitals where fees are supposedly highly subsidized.

A bill that recently passed the Lower House amends the Centenarians Act of 2016 that provides a cash gift of P100,000 for Filipinos reaching the age of 100. If the bill becomes a law, a senior who reaches the age of 101 will receive P1 million, and those who turn 80, 85, 90 or 95 receive a cash gift of P25,000.

The cash would be a nice birthday gift, but strengthening further the social services for our poor senior citizens would be much better, and one that would substantially lift the burden of care on the children of their old parents.

Elderly abuse

In fact, the proposed Anti-Elder Abuse Act, which was introduced in 2020, deserved better support from lawmakers, not just because of its provision appropriating seniors anywhere from P5,000 to P8,000 a month as cash assistance, but also of giving them the additional empowerment to care for their own welfare.

According to the Commission of Human Rights of the Philippines, most senior citizens decry the mandatory retirement law that has forced them out of jobs by age 60 although they are still allowed to  work in a company until age 65.

The treatment of women is even more discriminatory, with many forced to take early retirement offers upon reaching 50. Job openings for middle-aged females are even fewer, if not rare. Even returning male overseas workers feel the age discrimination.

Then too, benefits provided for seniors through several existing laws need to be updated with the objective of providing enough assistance. In this regard, the development of a long-term plan that would take into consideration the social and economic impact of a fast-ageing population must be institutionalized.

Aside from the existence of abuses on seniors, a bigger problem is the growing cases of neglect – especially for those residing in cities where the grown-up children abandon their parents, some literally on the streets if afflicted with dementia or a similarly debilitating illness.

It would be the ultimate mockery on our social fiber if this neglect and abuse worsens. Filipinos, after all, have long held pride for its love and respect for the elderly.

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