Lawmaker bats for quarterly financial assistance to elderly

A lawmaker is seeking additional provisions for financial assistance to marginalized senior citizens to enable them to maintain a “good quality of life with dignity and respect.”

Rep. Godofredo Arquiza (Party-list, Senior Citizen) said of the 1.4 million senior citizens in the country about 31.4 percent are poor and living below the poverty line.

Arquiza said about six million Filipinos who are 60 years old are “sick, undernourished and under-medicated.”

According to Arquiza, Filipinos, by tradition, have high respects for the elderly. The role being played by the elderly in the development of their families and communities can never be played down, Arquiza said.

“The country fully counts the elderly as an active part of the human resources and their welfare and protection are emergent concerns of the government in recognition of the wisdom and worth of the senior citizens,” Arquiza said.

“It is imperative to pass a law that recognizes the positive role of the elderly in the society and re-affirm the Filipino tradition of caring for older persons,” Arquiza added.

Under House Bill 6610, otherwise known as the “Senior Citizens Financial Assistance Act of 2009,” senior citizens shall receive a quarterly financial assistance of P1,000 beginning on their birthday.

Only those who already reached 60, Filipino citizen, unemployed and within the poverty threshold as determined by the Department of Social Welfare and Development are qualified to receive the financial assistance.

Also, a loan assistance of P15,000 shall also be extended to qualified senior citizens. It should only be used for income generating activity or project and shall be without interest and collateral. Repayment shall be on staggered basis.

The qualified senior citizen shall present a medical certificate, issued by a government-accredited medical clinic, showing he has no serious illness. –Daily Tribune