FILIPINOS are known to take care of their elderly family members. They look after their physical and medical needs. But what about mental health needs? The Philippine Association for Retired Persons (Parp) will tackle this topic in a seminar on “Mental health awareness for seniors” to be held this Sunday, June 2, 2019, at the Capitol Central Hotel, Escario St., Capitol, Cebu City. The seminar will run from 3 to 5 p.m. This forum will be the second in a series of monthly talks being sponsored by Parp on topics that retirees and other senior citizens may find useful. The Parp held last May 5 a forum on estate planning for seniors. Speaker in this Sunday’s forum on mental health is Dr. Roberto “Bob” Cañete, who specializes in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry at the Cebu Doctors’ Hospital. Cañete is known as an expert in mental health in Cebu. Seniors, their children, grandchildren and caregivers are expected to benefit from Cañete’s talk. Parp will collect P100 per person to cover snacks. For more information and for reservation to the seminar, contact Grace Cabaero-Ferreros at 0917-624-5745 or Gretchen Arcipe at 0922-221-6541. Parp started in 1999 in Manila and presented itself to the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) as representatives for retirees. Among Parp’s accomplishments was the increase in SSS monthly pension to P2,500 as a result of the insistence of its national executive board headed by founder, Amado Cabaero, in numerous meetings with SSS. In Cebu, Parp facilitated the release of the GSIS pension of one of its members who had not received her pension for 20 years. The latest move of Parp was to push for the approval of legislation for the creation of the National Commission of Senior Citizens. The move was facilitated by its vice president for external relations, lawyer Mafeo Vibal, who lobbied for the approval last January of House Bill 8837 filed by senior citizen party-list Representative Francisco G. Datol Jr. The National Commission of Senior Citizens is envisioned to be a centralized national office “to formulate policies for the promotion and protection of the rights and well-being of senior citizens.” Once passed into law, seniors will have to deal with only one central office, not several offices, for their concerns. Parp is inviting retired professionals and business executives to help make the organization an effective champion of the rights of senior citizens. (PR)