WE, Filipinos, take pride in the close-knit family ties that has characterized us as a people. This specific Filipino character is highlighted by the premium we give to the value of respect to parents and grandparents.
The laws on the welfare of senior citizens in our country are consistent with the earlier mentioned Filipino character.
Bills filed both in the House of Representatives and the Senate, particularly House Bill No. 4980 of Muntinlupa Representative Ruffy Biazon and Senate Bill No. 29 of Senator Panfilo Lacson, convey a very valuable message—the Philippine society’s high regard for its elderly should not be limited to the discounts they enjoy for their purchases and the standard basic government services.
Both the Biazon and Lacson bills propose to impose imprisonment and monetary fine to those who commit acts against the interest and welfare of the elderly members of the Philippine society.
While Senator Lacson’s proposal specifically addresses the case of abandonment of old and sick parents by their children, the bill of Representative Biazon deals with the broader issues of neglect, exploitation, and violence against the elderly.
It is sad, particularly in our society and given our culture, that even the mere filing of a legislative measure seeking the government’s intervention on the care for the elderly has become necessary.
One could and should expect that in a society that prides itself of close knit family ties, children need not be compelled by law to take care of their old and sick parents.
It is obvious that the increasing number of abandoned, neglected, and exploited elderly in our society, not to mention those who became victims of various acts of violence, made the Lacson and Biazon proposals necessary.
The care of parents and grandparents is not essentially a question of the financial capacity of children. While it is unconscionable for financially capable children to abandon their parents and grandparents, the same kind of abandonment is “out of (Filipino) character” even for children who are economically challenged.
Even if the Lacson and the Biazon bills are enacted into laws, the care for the elderly that is done to avoid being imprisoned and/or having to pay monetary fine is un-Filipino. But even if that is so, the legislative proposals (and eventually the law) are necessary because our society should not leave the interests and welfare of our elderly to the mere hope that all children in our country will indeed act as true Filipinos.
