NCSC wants annual medical checkup for senior citizens

The National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) on Monday said it wants the government to provide an annual medical checkup for senior citizens for better management of their health.

“Ang isang advocacy natin is really baka puwedeng lahat ng senior citizens ay magkaroon ng annual medical, oral, optical, and dental examinations, nang sa ganun we will be able to address the issues  and cause a longer life for senior citizens,” NCSC chairperson Franklin Quijano said at a public briefing.

(Our advocacy really is for senior citizens to be provided annual medical, oral, optical, and dental examinations.)

He also pointed out the importance of using universal healthcare to establish a good health profile for senior citizens.

"The number of senior citizens is increasing every day," Quijano said, adding that one out of 10 Filipinos is a senior citizen—that is, 60 years old or older.

"In 15 years, magiging dalawa na po ang [there will be two] seniors for every 10 Filipinos...Pag hindi tayo naghanda, at hindi natin binibigyan ng pansin ang [If we don't prepare, and if we don't give our attention to the situation of] senior citizens, then not only will our government resources be drained and heavily burdened by the number of seniors, lalong lalo na [especially] if the families will not unite," he said.

"So one of the programs we are looking at is really hikayatin ang lahat ng pamilya na magkaroon ng [we urge families to have] inter-generational dialogue, nang sa ganoon ma-prepare natin yung mga pamilya [so that we can prepare families for] when the time comes, our families will be ready, supportive, loving for the senior citizens," he added.

Quijano also expressed support for Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s Senate Bill 671 or the proposed Senior Citizens' Fraud Education, saying that the age group is vulnerable to scams.

Elderly Filipino Week is commemorated from October 1 to 7 with the theme “Older Persons: Resilience for Nation-Building.”

According to Quijano, the NCSC is making an inventory of skills of senior citizens that can be used to solve several problems in the country. — BM, GMA News