Senate approves bill creating senior citizens commission

January 29, 2019

The Senate on Monday passed on third and final reading a measure creating a commission for the elderly.

Senate Bill No. 2159, under Committee Report 552, establishing the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC), was approved in the Senate with a vote of 12 and no abstention.

The bill is in substitution of Senate Bill Nos. 674, 1881 and 2099 filed by Sen. Bam Aquino, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III and Sen. Sonny Angara.

Sen. Antonio  Trillanes IV, sponsor of the bill, said that the measure will create a body dedicate solely to handle the concerns of senior citizens, thereby abolishing the National Coordinating and Monitoring Board.

The board, created by Republic Act 9994 or the "Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010," is composed of heads of different government agencies.

Trillanes, acting chairman of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development in the absence of detained Sen. Leila de Lima, said the NCSC will be under the office of the President and will be composed of a chairperson and six commissioners.

The commissioners will represent and hold offices in the different regions in the country. An executive director, who will be appointed by the commission, will manage and supervise the commission's daily operations.

Aquino, principal author of the measure, said the NCSC, as a national agency, will formulate and implement policies, plans and programs that promote senior citizens' rights and privileges or address issues plaguing the sector.

"With sectors such as the youth, women and persons with disabilities having a specialized body catering to their constituents, it is about time that our Filipino seniors are awarded their own commission as well to ensure that no Filipino gets left behind," Aquino said.

Sotto said it is imperative to safeguard the rights of senior citizens and ensure the proper execution of their programs for their well-being.

The creation of NCSC reaffirms the Philippines' commitment to empowering the elderly, as a signatory to the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Ageing: Empowering Older Persons in ASEAN which was adopted on November 21, 2015.

Trillanes said with the aging population, it is important to prepare for such a trend.

According to the Population Commission, the population of senior citizens in the country in 2018 could be 8 percent of the total population, or 8.013 million.

The United Nations Population Fund projected that the senior population in the Philippines is expected to hit 23.63 million by 2050. DMS