Yamsuan bats for long-term care programs, job facilitation services for seniors

Representative Brian Raymund Yamsuan has called on the government to start investing in long-term care programs and job facilitation strategies for senior citizens to prepare for the expected growth in the country’s aging population five years from now.

He said the current array of benefits enjoyed by seniors, such as discounts, cash benefits and social pensions, should be complemented by long-term programs that would promote active and healthy aging as well as provide support mechanisms for frail and dependent elderly citizens.

“By 2030, which is only few years from now, our country will start transitioning to an aging society. We need to act now to ensure that our senior citizens remain healthy–both physically and mentally–and that they get the quality care they deserve,” Yamsuan said.

Estimates done by the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) show that by 2030, the number of Filipino elderly citizens will comprise about 8.5 percent of the population.

These projections were confirmed by the findings of The Longitudinal Study of Aging and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), which cited the country’s shift to an aging society by 2030 as a result of a recent sharp decline in fertility rates and increased life expectancy among Filipinos.

“Lubos nating pinapahalagahan at pinag-uukulan ng pagmamahal ang ating mga senior citizens. Ngayon pa lang, dapat ay naghahanda na tayo sa pagdami ng bilang ng ating mga elderly kababayan, at kasama na ang marami sa ating mga mahal sa buhay diyan pagsapit ng 2030. Dapat ay may matatag silang support system para manatili silang mga aktibo, produktibo at malusog na miyembro ng ating lipunan,” Yamsuan said.

(We highly value and love our senior citizens. At this time, we should be preparing for the increasing number of our elderly countrymen, and many of our loved ones will belong to this group by 2030. They should have a stable support system so that they can remain active, productive and healthy members of our society.)

Yamsuan said that in his home city of Parañaque City, particularly in District 2, he has initiated several projects to benefit senior citizens. These are, among others, providing medical assistance and free checkups to seniors; including them among his Extra Rice Program beneficiaries, and distributing free wheelchairs, nebulizers and other medical needs.

Starting this week, Yamsuan will roll out a project to provide them free pneumococcal vaccines.

In the Congress, Yamsuan has filed House Bill (HB) 7980, which aims to institute long-term care programs for the elderly, especially indigent seniors; HB 7971 which prohibits and provides penalties for abuses committed against senior citizens; and HB 10630, which seeks to put in place offices at the local government level that would aid and facilitate the employment of seniors and persons with disabilities.

Yamsuan cited, in particular, HB 7980, which prepares the country for its aging population by ensuring that social protection programs, livelihood and job generation initiatives, social insurance, lifelong education and training, and elderly-focused health services that include rehabilitative and hospice care services are in place for senior citizens.

HB 10630, on the other hand, complements HB 10985 or the proposed Employment Opportunities for Senior Citizens and Private Entities Incentives Act that was approved last November by the House of Representatives. HB 10985 promotes the creation of jobs for senior citizens who have the qualifications, capacity, and interest to be employed.

Spearheaded by the Demographic Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (DRDF) and the UP Population Institute (UPPI), the LSAHP study also found that only 31 percent of hypertensive seniors and 18 percent of diabetics regularly obtain free medication from health centers.

The study done in coordination with the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, and the Asia Health and Wellbeing Initiative of the Japanese government also proposed the establishment of more long-term-care homes for seniors and a review of current pension rates to “increase the pensions of private sector retirees so they can be independent of their children and other kin.”