Quezon City eyeing to roll out more programs for senior

Quezon City, Aug. 1 (PIA)—The Quezon City government is seriously considering adopting some of the programs for the elderly being implemented by some countries with aging populations.    

Being considered are programs similar to those adopted by Japan, Hawaii or Europe, all of which have a great number of elderly people.   In line with this, Mayor Herbert Bautista has instructed the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) to conduct a study on how the city government could come up with more active programs for senior citizens, for them to remain competitive and productive despite their age.  

 The city government is mandated to provide a budget allocation of at least one percent of its annual budget for programs that will redound to the benefit of senior citizens in the city. Its implementation, provided for under an ordinance, will commence in 2017.    The QC government is the first local government unit in the country to come up with such an ordinance.   “Ang focus po natin ngayon ay kung paano natin gagamitin ang pondong ito para sa karagdang mga programa para sa mga nakakatanda,” the Mayor said.      Based on QC OSCA records, there are about 400,000 registered senior citizens in the city.            

The city’s government’s efforts to provide senior citizens greater access to quality health services also include enrolment to the Community Health Information Tracking System (CHITS) to ensure the provision of integrated health programs and services to the city’s elderly residents.       

The city government is also hiring retirees on part-time basis as tutors for public schools, caregivers for health centers, value formation teachers for day-care centers and as support staff in the city’s department of public order and safety for retired military and police officers.   The city’s social services development department oversees the implementation of the city’s volunteer work program for senior citizens and retirees with skills, which had been described as a pioneering effort by a local government unit.    

As a token of appreciation for their volunteer work, the city government is providing each retiree with a monthly incentive pay amounting to P3,500.  Each retiree is required to render 24 hours of volunteer work in a month.    (QC PAISO/RJB/SDL/PIA-NCR)