Staunch senior citizens welfare advocate Deputy Speaker Benny Abante, Jr. called on the House of Representatives to pass the measure establishing the National Geriatric Health and Research Institute (NGHRI), and stressed on Wednesday that the NGHRI would “provide our lolos and lolas with the medical care they need––medical care they have earned, medical care they are due, medical care they are entitled to.”
In his sponsorship speech, Abante reminded his colleagues that the welfare of senior citizens has alway been a priority of the House.
The House leader cited data from the World Health Organization which revealed that 7 out of 10 COVID deaths in the country are patients 60 years old and above.
The legislator cited the Senior Citizens Act of 1991 and the two measures that later amended it––the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003 and the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010––and stressed that “malinaw po na mahal ng Kamara ang ating mga senior citizens.”
“Ito ay patunay na nandyan po ang Kongreso para sa ating mga lolo at lola; kaya ako po ay may kumpyansa na maaasahan nila tayo––na maaasahan nila ang suporta natin para sa isang ospital na tutugunan ang kalusugan at karamdaman ng ating mga senior citizens.”
According to Abante, himself a senior citizen, “House Bill 3939––which will convert the National Center for Geriatric Health (NCGH) into the NGHRI and finally establish a fully-operational hospital that will cater to health services specifically for the elderly––is long overdue.”
“At present, 8.2 million of the country’s 109 million people are already aged 60 and above, with 5% of our Filipinos 65 and older. Mr. Speaker, habang lumalaki ang ating populasyon at gumadanda ang ating health care, lalo pang lalaki ang population ng mga senior citizens,” the solon pointed out.
In addition to this, the lawmaker reiterated that the COVID-19 pandemic “is a grim reminder of how vulnerable our elderly are to sickness and disease. All of us here know that firsthand. We have lost former colleagues and contemporaries; lost older family members and loved ones; lost old friends and mentors.”
According to Abante, himself a senior citizen, “House Bill 3939––which will convert the National Center for Geriatric Health (NCGH) into the NGHRI and finally establish a fully-operational hospital that will cater to health services specifically for the elderly––is long overdue.”
The House leader cited data from the World Health Organization which revealed that 7 out of 10 COVID deaths in the country are patients 60 years old and above.
“Seventy percent, Mr. Speaker. Assuming this figure is still accurate, this means that out of the 53,958 Filipinos who have lost their lives to COVID-19, as many as 37,810 were senior citizens. Ang ating mga lolo at lola. Gone too soon,” lamented Abante.
“Knowing what we know about how vulnerable our senior citizens are to sickness and disease, and knowing what we know about how special treatment is often necessary to care for the health of our elderly, it is clear that our country needs a National Geriatric Health and Research Institute.”
The NGHRI will be a 100-bed hospital that will be attached to the Department of Health (DOH). It will, among others: (1) equip, maintain, administer, and operate an integrated medical institution that specializes in geriatric health services; (2) provide and maintain affordable, quality, and timely hospital care through an efficient health service delivery system that prioritizes the need of the elderly; and (3) coordinate the various efforts and activities of other government agencies and local government units for the purpose of achieving effective approaches to the delivery of geriatric health services.
