ONE of the last laws that our great president Benigno Simeon Aquino III signed celebrates long life (Republic Act 10868) and another, in 2014, ensured that the elderly will be taken care by the state over their expectedly multitudinous health problems (Republic Act 10645).
RA 10645, approved by the President on Nov. 5, 2014, provides mandatory and automatic PhilHealth coverage for Filipino senior citizens, defined as at least 60 years old, thus, amending the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 (Republic Act 994). Today, the elderly only needs to present a valid identification card or document to prove their age and they have the full benefits of all PhilHealth members.
The Act will cover at least the six million of senior citizens in the country. PhilHealth’s 2014 Annual Report indicated a coverage of 86.2 million Filipinos, which apparently did not account yet for the over six million senior citizens estimated. Its reported members among senior citizens was only 3.5 million. Incorporating the rest of the over six million new senior citizen members will increase this figure (exact figure can be verified when the 2015 Annual Report comes out) into over 88.7 million membership. Meanwhile, the Population Census of 2015, covering Filipinos as of August 1, 2015, declared the Philippine population at 100.98 million. This membership estimate represents an 87.8 percent state health coverage, moving closer to the long-desired universal coverage target. A few years ago state health coverage was barely past 50 percent.
The second law, RA 10868, favors Filipino centenarians. One of his four last laws signed, President Aquino approved it on June 23, granting Filipinos reaching age 100 a free cash gift of P100,000, which centenarians receive through their respective local governments. And, it is value added tax-free. This law endows a valuable recognition for these Filipinos’ contribution to the community for their longevity alone. Those born in 1916 can well enjoy this cash gift.
The only obvious problem here is the provision of proof. There is no certainty if the current National Statistics Authority has complete data on the First World War (1914-1918) births. Local implementers must be more lenient and innovative in verifying their ages. Perhaps, the birth certificate of the claimant’s oldest child can be used to estimate their age with reasonable accuracy.
Cheers then to those among us who have reached the apex of their longevity and community service. May God grant you all more years of still enviable health.