By Mike G. Jamisola, September 14, 2022
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Every year from October 1-7, the entire nation honors its senior citizens with a country-wide celebration of Elderly Filipino Week and this year’s festivity is no different. In fact, it even promises to be a better and bigger one.
The Elderly Filipino Week celebration is anchored on Proclamation No. 470, s. 1994, issued by former President Fidel V. Ramos. It is declared every first week of October referred to as Linggo ng Katandaang Filipino or Elderly Week to give importance to elderly Filipinos in nation-building.
The week-long festival is now spearheaded by the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) based on the mandate of RA 11350, specifically referring to the transfer of programs, functions, and activities that used to be under the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
With the mandate of taking the lead in this celebration, the NCSC headed by its Chairman, Atty. Franklin Quijano, has lined up a massive, air-tight schedule of activities following the theme Older Persons: Resilience for Nation-Building.
The NCSC has also encouraged frontline leaders in governance and the local government units (LGUs) including civic organizations to actively participate and ensure the success of the celebration through the programs and activities especially dedicated to our elderly populace.
Among the groups that have been tapped to help the NCSC are the National Government Agencies (NGAs) National Government Organizations (NGOs) Local Government Units (LGUs) Senior Citizens Organizations/Associations Federation of Senior Citizens of the Philippines (FSCAP), private organizations, religious groups, and the civil society. Also expected to collaborate and provide assistance are the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Commission of Human Rights (CHR).
The Coalition of Services for the Elderly (COSE) is likewise enjoined to coordinate, with the Federation of Senior Citizens Association of the Philippines (FSCAP) in carrying out these activities for the elderly.
To kick-off the week-long celebration on October 1, a national opening ceremony will be held in the National Capital Region with similar activities set simultaneously in various regions and provinces throughout the country.
AdoptingAmerican poet and author Irwin Allen Ginsberg’s Seven Cs of Resilience, the proposed calendar of activities for the Elderly Filipino Week will be as follows:
Saturday, October 1: With the theme Confidence, the set of activities starts with the opening ceremonies, which will highlight the Achievements of Older Persons. Other events include Documentary-Feature: Saludo kay Lolo at Lola, Libreng Sakay for all Senior citizens in cooperation with the Department of Transportation (DoTr), and National ID Express Booths for senior citizens care of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in shopping malls and barangay halls or OSCA offices for the entire Elderly Week celebration.
Sunday, October 2: Themed Contribution of Older Persons and Their Impact to Others, activities include Cente-Sinta in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Monday, October 3: Themed Coping mentally, emotionally and physically and strategies to relax and cope with stress, activities include official Announcement of the Elderly Celebration after the Flag Ceremony, TeleKonsulta with the Department of Health (DoH) and other Health & Wellness-related Activities.
Tuesday, October 4: With the theme, Control Circles of concern, influence and control, activities include an Open Public Forum-Ideal Retirement Life (Age-Friendly Initiative in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other private organizations.
Wednesday, October 5: Themed Connection – Sense of belongingness, network, and support given and received by others, activities include Walk for life with DOH and PhilHealth and Free Medical, Dental, Hearing Screening Test in cooperation with DOH, PSO, and PDA.
Thursday, October 6: With the theme Character – Values Leading with good values and character, activities include Open Forum and Documentary/Feature presentation with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and DSWD on the topic: Resilience of Older Women in the Face of Environmental, Social, Economic and Lifelong inequalities.
Friday, October 7: ThemedCompetence – Special Skills and Competencies, activities include the SUN Awards care of COSE, Ceremonial Signing of Memorandum of Agreement between NCSC and PhilHealth, Launching of AFCC pilot sites, national closing ceremonies and other culmination activities.
Helping Chairman Quijano put up with this herculean task are the indefatigable men and women of the NCSC, who banded themselves into various committees and work on their specific roles and functions.
Actively spearheading the Elderly Week programs and activities in their respective clustered regions are Chairman Franklin Quijano (National Capital Region), Comm. Reymar Mansilungan (Regions 1, 2 and 3 including the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) while Comm Rainier Cruz takes care of Southern Luzon, Regions 4A, 4B and 5.
Commissioner Ida Yap-Patron handles Regions 9, 11, 13 and other parts of BARMM and Zamboanga Peninsula, Comm. Edwin Espejo takes charge of Regions 10, 12 and some parts of BARMM and Zambo Peninsula while Comm. Enriqueta Roncal-Rodeles handles most parts of the Visayas region.
According to the most recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, there were 12,336,355 Filipinos aged 60 years old and above as of May 2020.
The total number of senior citizens was placed at 11.31 percent of the country’s estimated total population of 109,035,343, based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH).