POPCOM: Care facilities, employment needed amid increasing elderly population

Published August 17, 2022 05:25 PM By JOVILAND RITA,GMA News

The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) on Wednesday said the country should look into creating programs for elderly Filipinos, establishing care facilities for them, and developing policies that would offer them employment opportunities if they want to work.

"What we need are programs to achieve active and healthy aging. Kasama rito ang mga community-based rehabilitation program. We also need programs for geriatric care as we have an increasing number of older citizens,” POPCOM Executive Director Juan Antonio Perez said at the government's public briefing aired on state-run PTV.

From the 4,565,560 reported in 2000, individuals aged 60 and above in the Philippines now number 9,222,672

, according to a POPCOM report. The commission is expecting the figures to continue upward from 2035 to 2040, reaching about 19 million, which is enough for the country's population to be considered "graying."

“Eventually, kapag talagang dumadami na, let’s say beyond 10 million ang population, we also have to develop programs for their care, either sa bahay o institutions. That is something that the country has to decide,” Perez added.

(Eventually, if the over-60 population increases beyond 10 million, we also have to develop programs for their care, either home-based or in institutions. That's something that the country has to decide.)

Aside from this, Perez said, Congress should also discuss policies regarding the employment of older Filipinos.

He added that only 20% of senior citizens in the country receive pensions, while most of them receive financial support from their families and relatives.

“We also have to think about policies on employment of older persons. Pag-isipan, do we need to bring up the retirement age that is something na pwedeng pagusapan ng Kongreso and also to look  part-time work for older citizens?” he added.

(Do we need to bring up the retirement age, which is something that can be discussed in Congress, and also look for part-time work for older citizens?)

Senior Citizen party-list Representative Rodolfo Ordanes Jr. recently filed a bill that would scrap the mandatory retirement age by amending the Labor Code with a provision stating that “an employee who reached the age of 65 years can choose to continue their employment provided that he qualifies under the bona fide occupational qualifications of his job." — BM, GMA News

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