Model citizen, dual citizen

Just a few days ago, I turned 60 years old. “Welcome to dual citizenship,” my friends fondly tease, as I invoke the senior citizen discount when paying bills.

Much of my public life has been spent pushing for laws that protect women. But women grow older. We all do. And we barely notice the moment it begins.

Then, “60” announced itself in small, almost funny ways. The fine print on my vitamin bottles have become increasingly harder to read. I walk a little more carefully at work, because my back suddenly insists on wearing nothing higher than two-inch heels. Then, as if it were another committee assignment at the Senate, I check my blood pressure, take my maintenance medicine, avoid scrolling my phone in bed and remind myself to sleep on time.

To be honest, this season of life is not new to me. For years, I have met countless lolos and lolas across the country who quietly navigate the same adjustments. They stretch their medicines, choosing between groceries and prescriptions and tuition fees for the kids and tuition fees for the grandkids. They look for ways to stay active despite aching joints.

This is the part we often miss during Women’s Month.

We know how to celebrate women when we are strong, productive and visible. We know how to award, applaud and call someone a “model” citizen. But are we ready for the years after the applause? When women grow older, when the body slows down, when dignity becomes less about being admired and more about being supported?

This is not only a women’s issue. Men grow older too. Fathers and lolos also count their pills, slow down on stairs and worry silently about the next checkup. A society that learns to care for its elderly cares for everyone.

Those encounters long shaped the work we try to do in the Senate. Even years before my senior citizenship, I told my staff that our lolas and lolos would be a policy priority.

As chair of the Senate committee on health and demography, I have tried to make sure that aging is not treated as an afterthought. We moved forward the proposal to establish a Philippine Geriatric Center, a hospital designed specifically for the needs of older Filipinos, because aging bodies deserve care built around us.

We also advanced measures providing free wheelchairs, hearing aids and other assistive devices for seniors and indigents. They may only seem small, but they allow our lolos and lolas to confidently step outside their home, join a conversation and remain visible in their community.

I am also continuing to push for a P1,500 monthly social pension and for free medicines, vitamins and supplements for senior citizens. Anyone who has stood at a pharmacy counter knows that aging comes with a price tag.

These proposals are not for women alone. They are for every Filipino family. Our mothers and fathers, widows and widowers, lolos and lolas all deserve to grow older with dignity and a little less anxiety.

Somewhere between the bouquets and the birthday cakes a few days ago, I caught myself remembering the many lives I’ve lived. Once, I was a young actress and singer. A community organizer finding her voice. Then, a newscaster. Later, a wife. Then, a mother to four children. A representative of my party, Akbayan, in the lower house. Now, I am a senator on my second term. I also recently became a mother-in-law! How time flies.

In the end, turning 60 only brought the truth closer to home: that growing older is not an exception. It is the direction of life that many Filipinos are also walking.

Our task as leaders is to make the road steadier, calmer and just a little less bumpy so that more Filipinos can reach old age with dignity.

I am excited. I am proud to be lining up in the senior lane. The next time I’ll enjoy a good meal, I will continue to proudly apply my senior citizen discount. I hope to get my fill of free movies and popcorn, too!

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Risa Hontiveros has served as a member of the Senate since 2016.