A bill establishing a national geriatric center moved closer to enactment after being ratified by the Bicameral Conference Committee on Tuesday.
According to House Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ G. Dy III, the ratification is a step forward in fulfilling a promise made during the necrological service for the late Batanes Rep. Ciriaco Gato Jr., who chaired the House Committee on Health.
‘Congress will continue what you started when we passed during the 20th Congress the proposal to establish the Dr. Eva Macaraeg-Macapagal National Center of Geriatric Health and Research Institute (DEMM-NCGHRI), an institution that will provide specialized healthcare for the senior citizens of our country,’ Dy said in his eulogy for Gato.
Dy added that getting the bill enacted would be among Gato’s important legacies as a legislator and physician – ‘to make sure that when a Filipino needs care, health is there.’
‘We will ensure that once the DEMM-NCGHRI is established, it will be able to provide the health needs that our senior citizens deserve,’ he said.
The DEMM-NCGHRI is envisioned to have medical facilities and equipment for senior citizens requiring acute and sub-acute care, geriatric palliative care, outpatient care, and transitional care services.
It would also provide specialized clinical, public health, operations research, and training programs using a multidisciplinary or multicenter approach.
Rep. Mila Aquino-Magsaysay of the United Senior Citizens Party-list, one of the House members appointed to reconcile differing provisions in House Bill No. 6739 and Senate Bill No. 1509, said the measure would respond to the growing number of senior citizens in the country.
‘The longitudinal study on ageing and health … confirmed that the country’s elderly population continues to increase with longer life expectancy… Foremost among Filipino citizens’ concerns is their health status and well-being,’ Aquino-Magsaysay said.
Quezon City Rep. Ma. Victoria Co-Pilar and Leyte Rep. Christopher ‘Coco’ Yap both pointed to the growth of the senior population as a demographic shift that requires the government to prepare for the changing healthcare needs of Filipinos.
‘Projections suggest that by 2030, one in every five Filipinos will be a senior citizen,’ Co-Pilar said, adding that such a shift would require a public health infrastructure equipped to care for this segment of the population.
Co-Pilar described the measure as a forward-looking and compassionate response to the evolving needs of senior citizens and an affirmation of the government’s commitment ‘to ensure that Filipino senior citizens age with health, care and respect.’
For Yap, ratifying the measure is a critical step toward building an age-ready and equitable health system.