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By Rene Q. Bas, Editor in chief
It is, for sure, a hyperbole. But
“Nobody cares for the aged” is what most old people who are
poor, sickly and abandoned by their children feel.
Poor, sick, undernourished, undermedicated are
very many of the about 6 million Filipinos who are 60 years old and
older. The majority of our senior citizens are among the
unhappiest and poorest Filipinos, as demographic statistics of the
government show.
Why is this so when everyone who describes the
Philippines says it is a Christian country and, according to a high
Welfare department official “one of the distinct traits which
remains to be entrenched in Filipino families, is the high regard
for older persons.”
How can the senior citizens of the Philippines
be a pitiful lot, when there is an Expanded Senior Citizens Act?
Because that law is largely ignored—with only
Makati being the shining star in concern for the plight of seniors.
Quezon City and less than 10 others are seriously trying to follow
the financial capital’s example.
Former Sen. Eddie Ilarde, heads a senior citizen
organization, the Golden Eagles Society International Inc.
Changed moral values
He laments that Filipino culture and moral
values have been tainted by materialistic Western values, resulting
in the disregard of elders.
“If our culture and values, mentality and
thought had remained pure, we would now be more respected by people
of other countries. And we would not be accused of being
‘confused beings’ with a ‘damaged culture,’” he said.
“And the younger Filipinos would now still be
treating their elders with reverence and respect—as people of
other Asian countries still do,” he added.
Ilarde pointed out that “among Asians, the
Chinese, Japanese, the Indians and the Malays and Indonesians, and
the Filipinos—but only up to just some decades ago—a person’s
being of age was accorded respect, even veneration. Older
people were considered sages and even oracles.”
That is no longer true today.
Bad for profits
The commercial establishments’ disdain for the
elderly, especially the drugstore companies and restaurants, is a
manifestation of this shift in Filipino values.
Senior citizens are bad for marketing—and
profits. In the 2000 census, they constituted only 4 percent
of the population. Today, seven years later, given the
improved longevity and the reduced birth rate (yes, our birth rate
is now lower than 10 years ago and has been falling) it must be 5
percent.
They do not represent a large-enough population
segment to attract the attention and budgets of mass merchandisers
whose focus is on the very young and their parents.
That is why the drugstore associations have been
fighting the 20-percent discount required by law on the senior
citizens’ purchases of prescription medicines. Thankfully,
the Supreme Court upheld the Senior Citizens’ Act against the drug
companies’ petition.
Demographic disadvantage
Most government officials and politicians, like
merchants, are guided by the demographic disadvantage of our senior
citizen population—not by what is right.
There is no clamor among lawmakers for citizen
representatives in barangay councils. The senior-citizen
party-list groups have not been able to elect a congressman.
The administration, as Executive Secretary
Ermita explains it (see the story “Ermita: We can’t afford to do
much more for them” by Angelo Samonte) has to balance the use of
its “resources” (which of course means money). Since there
are less seniors than the younger Filipinos, they have to get a
smaller piece of the pie.
As a result, lawmakers decided to subject
seniors’ purchases in the operation of the EVAT. The
12-percent tax on purchases reduced the Senior Citizens Act’s
20-percent discount to eight percent.
Sen. Edgardo Angara, who co-authored the
original Senior Citizens’ Act, and authored the expanded SCA, is
now working for the passage of his new bill to exempt seniors from
the EVAT. Since Finance Secretary Teves has vigorously opposed
Angara’s proposed measure, it is almost sure it will never become
a law—even if the Malacañang allies in the Senate and the House
decide to take pity on the seniors.
Lip service
Most of the local governments are paying no more
than lip service to the need to help the elderly.
They do not go after establishments that do not
give the law-required discounts.
Senior citizens are subjected to humiliation by
most establishments when they use their IDs to claim their
discounts. They dare not complain to the government and risk getting
even more humiliated.
The senior citizen welfare budget is supposed to
be one percent of the local government unit’s share of the tax
take. In some places, the money is misused by the authorities to
service other, more productive, constituencies.
Last October, in Bacolod City, accusations were
made against the city government about the alleged misuse of the
P4.3-million budget for the Senior Citizens Association.
Senior citizens are too easily victimized by
neighborhood gangs. The latest victim of such kind of violence was a
group of caroling seniors. They were hacked with bolos by a group
having a binge who did not like their singing.
Abandoned parents
There are also more and more cases of poor, sick
abandoned senior citizen parents. This has become such a
noticeable phenomenon nationwide, something that gives the lie to
the claim that Filipinos still have a high regard for older persons.
“Honor thy father and thy mother” is the
fourth of the Ten Commandments of the Judaic-Christian religions.
Islam also has the same command.
That commandment obliges Filipinos who are
Christians to respect and love their parents, to obey them in
everything that is not sinful—and to help them when they are in
need. It makes abandoning parents an act deserving condemnation.
Senate President Manuel Villar, who is not yet a
senior citizen, has sponsored a bill making it criminal for children
to abandon their parents.
Ageing population
Assistant Secretary Parisya Hashim Taradji of
the Department of Social Welfare and Development gave a country
report in October last year to the “High-Level Meeting on the
Regional Review of the Madrid International Plan of Action On Ageing
[MIPAA]” in Macao, China.
Her report says, “In the Philippines, one of
the distinct traits which remains to be entrenched in Filipino
families, is the high regard for older persons. Considering the
family as a basic unit of society, the role being played by the
elderly in the development of their families and communities can
never be played down. In recognition of their wisdom and worth, the
country fully counts older persons as active part of its human
resource; as such, their welfare and protection are emergent
concerns of the national government. . . .”
“To respond to the challenges of an ageing
population, the country has developed programs and championed
legislative actions enhancing the well being of older persons while
promoting their significant contributions.
“Guided by the Philippine Constitution, laws
that recognize the positive role of older persons in the society
have been enacted, encouraging them to contribute to nation-building
and mobilize families and the communities they live with and to
re-affirm the Filipino tradition of caring for older persons.
“The Philippines continues to strengthen its
efforts toward the promotion of multigenerational solidarity
enhancing the social position of older persons in the community, the
improvement of health and nutritional benefits for them, and
actualization of opportunities and active participation in national
development.
“Most elderly Filipinos live with their
children, spouse or other relatives. In a developing country like
the Philippines, the quality of life of older persons depends
largely on the family support system. The family and the home are
the pivotal points of support and care among older persons and
younger generations. Thus far, Filipino children remain as the
caretakers and providers of support to their aging parents. With
this, constancy of filial support of children to parents can hardly
be disregarded. The Philippine government has been successful in
initiating and facilitating efforts for the promotion of older
persons’ welfare.”
May God make these words a truer reality in
2008.
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