Crisis in elderly care

In many industrialized countries, governments are worried about falling birth rates and aging populations. For much of the developing world, the reverse is the problem: runaway population growth and low life expectancies.

This does not mean, however, that countries such as the Philippines are lacking in elderly people who need care. Philippine culture, which traditionally values the extended family, guarantees care for people as they grow old. The extended family system, however, has been weakened over the years. Poverty as well as the increasing number of women joining the workforce have contributed to the weakening. The Coalition of Services of the Elderly Inc., which advocates better care for senior citizens, warned recently that a crisis looms in elderly care. COSE said the elderly has become the fastest growing sector of the Philippine population.

COSE, citing figures from the National Statistics Office, reported that the country has 155,200 people aged 65 to 80 who are listed as living alone. Some are widowed; others live alone by choice while others have been listed as abandoned. About 31,500 who are at least 80 years old have been abandoned or are living alone, COSE reported.

The government must review mea-sures to assist its graying population. Apart from caring for the elderly, however, the government must also harness the productivity of senior citizens. Because of advances in health care, human productive years continue to increase. Many people remain healthy and lead active, productive lives long after traditional retirement age, and their numbers are growing. A number of these people do not re-lish being on welfare; they prefer to be given opportunities to remain self-sufficient and to contribute to nation-building. The government must help provide such opportunities, which not only will ease the burden on meager welfare resources but also boost national productivity.

Congress is deliberating on a Magna Carta for Older Persons. This is a bill that must be given priority. Lawmakers, a number of whom are senior citizens themselves, must not wait for the crisis of a graying population to blow up in their faces before passing this measure.