2015 for Senior Citizens

Maybe I was subconsciously gearing for a grand goodbye to my beloved sector, the senior citizens, because I practically devoted my whole 2015 to elderly concerns, although every so often I entertained a SOGIE or Solo Parent event. Even my one and only out-of-the-country trip was for senior citizens when I attended the ASEAN-organized Active Ageing Conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Just like my trip to Nepal in 2011 that was unceremoniously disapproved by the powers that be, a two-week scholarship to a Social Pension training in Chiang Mai originally offered to me was given to someone else in 2014. I felt this travel to Chiang Mai in March 2015 was like something to make up for it.

In May 2015, the Regional Coordinating and Monitoring Board (RCMB) Conference/National Training –Workshop for Senior Citizens Focal Persons and RCMB-Regional Inter-Agency Senior Citizen Committee (RIASC) members was held. Conducted in 2 parts – Luzon Cluster and Visayas-Mindanao Cluster, it was a capability-building activity for the various SC point persons, including the representatives of member-government agencies to ensure the reactivation and functionality of RCMBs-RIASCs. These activities meant I was working on my birthday again.

In between, I still lectured for small groups on occasion…out-of-town visits to far off towns like Rosario in Batangas which allowed me a rare sidetrip to Taal, short talks for the community partners of Bantay-Matanda, an NGO devoted to preventing elder abuse, in the New Manila, QC area and even the different barangays in District 5 of Manila City. These opportunities brought me to close proximity to the senior citizens themselves, seeing for myself who really are our clients and checking to see if they really do know about their rights and privileges. I never begrudged them my expertise for I know this direct knowledge would surely be of benefit to them. I can always feel their pleasure, their pride, and even in that empowered state, a sense of gratefulness.

In June, there was also a Multi-Stakeholders’ Dialogue organized jointly by the DSWD-COSE-CHR-DFA-PHRC and NEDA. This inter-agency initiative was meant to be a venue for raising and discussing relevant issues and concerns currently plaguing the elderly sector. The activity also managed to validate many aspects of the draft Human Rights Situationer of Filipino Elderly as highlighted in the Philippine Country Report on Social, Economic, and Cultural Rights. While it was an opportunity to highlight the “rights-based” approach in dealing with the elderly sector, it was also meant to emphasize the need for an international instrument, particularly a specific treaty or convention on elderly rights. The proceedings were meant to feed into the Philippine participation at the next Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWGA) to be held in New York annually.

In October, as part of the Elderly Filipino Week/month celebrations, the DOH organized the 1^st Public Health Convention on Health and Wellness of Senior Citizens. Invited were delegates from all over the Philippines who listened to researches and studies from the academe particularly UP Manila’s National Institutes of Health-Institute on Ageing, updates from concerned government agencies like the DOH and PhilHealth, as well as efforts and directives from relevant institutions like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Center of Geriatric Health (NCGH). Since the WHO began to look into Health and Ageing in 2013, it has consistently urged the DOH to have more initiatives towards addressing health issues of older persons and has supported activities such as this.

In November, the Workshop on Older Persons Policy and Legislative Agenda (OPPLA) was held in anticipation of the coming elections next year. Initiated by the COSE, it was co-sponsored by the CHR and NEDA, and participated in by DSWD and PHRC. After the enhancement done to the draft Human Rights Situationer of the Elderly from the feedback gathered at the June Multi-Stakeholders Dialogue, OPs were now being asked to look into their current situation and build on it for future policy and legislative directions. A draft Policy and Legislative Agenda was the expected output from this Workshop and which they will use to put forward their priorities to election candidates who will soon be campaigning for their votes. At the National Summit held on November 24th, this OPPLA was exactly what was presented to potential senators running for office in 2016 in the hope that these future legislators will remember to propose worthwhile bills which will address the needs of the senior citizens.

It was a very productive year and I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish. I was certain all these hard work would provide a solid foundation for future engagements and efforts. All we could hope for is that they can be sustained and maximized by both policy-makers and legislators alike.

I always considered that the greatest gift of my work for seniors is that while I had the honor of working for them from “the top”, I also had the privilege of interacting with them directly and on a personal level. I got to meet seniors from different walks of life and seeing their commonality, I knew my policy-making was always fed with first-hand information and fully grounded on realities.