Bill creating Senior Citizens agency awaits Duterte’s signature
Former President and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday expressed confidence that the bill creating an independent commission for senior citizens will soon be signed into law by President Duterte.
Meeting representatives of the country’s over 8 million seniors, Arroyo said House Bill (HB) 8837 will be enrolled for signature by Duterte as soon as she and Senate President Vicente Sotto III have affixed their signatures in the consolidated measure.
The Senate unanimously adopted the House version of the measure to be known as the National Commission of Senior Citizens Act.
Arroyo said discussions on the implementing rules and regulations will commence immediately as she assured leaders of elderly citizens that their proposals will be thoroughly studied.
Former First Lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Romualdez-Marcos presided over the public hearing as chairperson of the House Committee on Senior Citizens.
Also in attendance were co-authors of the bill, namely Reps. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. (PDP-Laban, Quezon City); Milagros Aquino-Magsaysay (Senior Citizens Party-list), and Francisco Datol Jr. (Senior Citizens Party-list).
Hundreds of 60 plus citizens attended the committee proceedings as they lauded the House leadership for swiftly acting on the measure.
Benjamin Medina Sr., national president of the League of OSCA Head of the Philippines, said the creation of the National Commission on Senior Citizens will guarantee the protection of the rights of senior citizens, which include the strict implementation of laws providing for economic benefits for them.
HB 8837 proposes to create a cohesive government agency that will implement and enforce the laws and monitor compliance to said laws that are significant to senior citizens welfare.
The bill abolishes the National Coordinating and Monitoring Board a senior citizens agency attached to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Magsaysay said the proposed NCSC will be attached to the Office of the President but will enjoy independence as a body tasked to address needs of the country’s elderly folk.
The proposed NCSC is a collegial body whose members will be appointed by the President. The agency will be headed by a chairperson who will be assisted by six commissioners who will represent different geographical regions in the country.
The late Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe was an author of the bill. His partylist colleagues, Reps. Alfredo A. Garbin and Christopher Co, are also principal authors of the bill.
In pushing for the approval of the measure, Batocabe had noted that existing senior citizens offices under the national and local government units have not “fully maximized” the plans and programs for the country’s seniors.
“They (elderly) need a specialized body that will cater to the common problems of the senior citizens such as violation of the grant and privileges to senior citizens and the lack of oversight over legal and administrative problems or matters concerning senior citizens at all levels of their organizations,” the Ako Bicol solon said then.
Quezon City Rep. Alfredo Vargas, another principal author, underscored the need for a specialized agency for seniors as he pointed out that unlike the youth, women and children, it is only this elderly sector that does not have an agency that “will primarily cater to the needs of our lolos and lolas.”