Health and aging

Last week, what I hoped for as a routine medical procedure quickly turned into something far more serious. Within a couple of hours, I found myself being prepared for an angioplasty. A stent had to be carefully installed in my artery – the one ominously nicknamed the “widowmaker.”

Thankfully, the procedure went well. I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Ariel Miranda, Dra. Lourdes Santos and the entire medical team of Cardinal Santos Medical Center. Their professionalism, competence and compassion made an anxious experience so much easier to bear. I highly recommend this hospital for those with heart and other health issues.

When my high school classmate Jake Peralta checked on me after my procedure, it suddenly dawned on me – we have all hit our senior years. Our reunions, once filled with laughter about careers and family milestones, now circle back to one recurring theme: health. This time, I became the topic.

While lying in that hospital bed, I also found myself reflecting not only on my own situation but on the circumstances of millions of elderly Filipinos. I am one of the lucky few because across the country, countless senior citizens face health challenges without the resources, facilities and support systems available in major urban centers. Many elderly patients must travel long distances for consultations. Others endure long waiting times or postpone treatment altogether because of financial constraints. Families often bear the responsibility of caregiving with little guidance and limited support.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, as of 2025, senior citizens or Filipinos aged 60 and above, numbered close to 11 million. This is equivalent to 9.6 percent of the country’s 113.7 million population. At this pace, the Philippines is expected to cross the mark to an aging population by 2030, with the elderly projected to comprise around 11 percent by 2030. That’s millions of people who will need care tailored to the realities of aging – mobility issues, chronic conditions like arthritis and diabetes, memory issues and the need for emotional support to address concerns such as isolation.

Earlier this year, the Commission on Population and Development called for an assessment of current policies on aging to address gaps so that necessary adjustments can be made, which I hope would include government funding and support for geriatric care.

Most seniors are left to navigate a fragmented health system in the country: general hospitals that treat them like any other patient, barangay health centers that lack geriatric specialists and families who are left to care for aging loved ones without professional guidance and support. It is a challenging approach that leaves too many vulnerable.

Geriatric care is not just about treating disease – it is also about managing the complex conditions that come with age. A senior recovering from a heart procedure, for instance, may also struggle with diabetes, arthritis or memory loss. Each condition affects the other and without coordinated care, recovery becomes harder.

Ideally specialized government facilities could provide integrated services: cardiology, neurology, physical therapy, nutrition and mental health support – all under one roof. Most importantly, they would give seniors a space where their dignity is preserved, where aging is not seen as a burden but as a natural stage of life deserving respect and care.

It means being able to consult a doctor without traveling half a day. It means having access to affordable medicines and rehabilitation services. It means receiving mental health support when loneliness, grief or cognitive decline become part of daily life. It means helping families care for aging parents without forcing them into financial hardship.

A nation’s values are reflected also in how it cares for those who have already spent decades contributing to society. Today’s senior citizens built businesses, schools, communities, places of worship and families. They paid taxes, raised children, served in government and the private sector and above all, helped shape the country we now live in. Surely, they deserve more than a health care system that often struggles to meet their needs.

The government cannot afford to wait until the country has a larger elderly population before acting. We need more geriatric units in public hospitals, greater investment in elderly care services, expanded and more PhilHealth support and coverage for chronic and long-term conditions and stronger systems and structure for family caregivers. These initiatives will require resources, but they should be viewed as payback rather than expenses.

My angioplasty may have repaired a blocked artery, but it also opened my eyes in ways I did not expect. As someone who has long advocated for senior citizens, I thought I understood the challenges of aging. It turns out understanding them from a distance is different from feeling their weight firsthand.

We all look forward to a long and fulfilling life. The question is whether we are building a country that will allow people to live those later years with dignity.

Aging should never be treated as an afterthought in public policy – it is not a problem that belongs to a small sector of society. If we are lucky enough to grow old, it eventually becomes our own story. Geriatric health care should be treated not as a luxury, but as a national priority.