SENATE Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano is advocating for the creation of healthcare and wellness hubs in every city and municipality across the country to help senior citizens enjoy their twilight years with dignity and care.

Cayetano filed Senate Bill No. 107 titled the Center for the Elderly in All Cities and Municipalities Act, which was among several measures discussed during the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development’s hearing last September 29, focusing on enhancing support for the elderly.

During the deliberation, the Department of Social Welfare and Development revealed that it currently operates only four residential care facilities nationwide – in the National Capital Region, CALABARZON, Region IX, and Region XI. These centers provide 24-hour care and support to citizens aged 60 and above who are abandoned, neglected, homeless, or disadvantaged.

Cayetano’s bill seeks to establish dedicated spaces that offer access to healthcare, wellness services, recreational activities, and social protection programs tailored to the needs of the elderly.

“More than the Constitutional duty of every family to care for its elders, the responsibility is deeply rooted into the very being of every Filipino. Our history shows that ancient Filipinos held the elderly in high regard,” Cayetano noted in his bill.

He added that the initiative underscores the vital role of senior citizens, who comprise 9.5 million of the population, play in Filipino families and communities.

“Malaki ang role ng senior citizens na hubugin ang ating bukas. Sana po ‘wag maliitin at ipagkait ang kanilang role as seniors na gumabay, magbigay pangaral, yakapin, at disiplinahin ang ating kabataan,” he said.

Highlighting the trend toward an aging population by 2030, he emphasized the growing demand for long-term facilities.

Cayetano is seeking to replicate the Center for the Elderly, established in 2019 in Taguig, the first of its kind in the country that offers a range of services and amenities for elderly residents, as a model nationwide. (Press release)