The Sangguniang Panlungsod recently approved on the third and final reading an ordinance establishing a community-based program for the healthy and productive aging of senior citizens, providing free essential health, wellness, and other equitable services to promote their quality of life.
The City Health Office initiated the proposal, which was filed by Councilor Richlyn Justol-Baguilod, who chairs the Committee on Health, as a way of recognizing the senior citizens’ contribution to making Davao City a better place to live.
“As we all know, our laws really emphasize the welfare of our senior citizens. If we are talking about the welfare of senior citizens, the most important aspect will be their health. As the chairperson of the Committee on Health, we are enticed of the services it can cater to the senior citizens when this will be pushed through,” she said.
The law will provide free basic health services to senior citizens, decongesting the load on Barangay Health Centers (BHCs). The BHCs usually cater to medical consultation and other related needs of Dabawenyo senior citizens.
The councilor said, “There is now a need to decongest the load of patients that the BHCs have to accommodate every day. Hence, one way is the utilization of pre-existing rooms and buildings as medical clinics for our senior citizens.”
Justol-Banguilod hopes that the ordinance will soon be implemented using a pre-existing building, the Sta. Building, as its core site, that will serve as a token of gratitude for the elderly who also contributed to Davao City’s growth.
The law, exclusive to Davao City residents aged 60 years and above, affirms the value of the Filipino tradition of caring for older adults and is aligned with national laws on senior citizens’ welfare, such as the Universal Health Care Act and the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, which aim to grant Filipinos immediate access to medical, dental, mental, and emergency health services, and provide a Healthy and Productive Ageing Program for senior citizens to promote their well-being and contribute to nation building.
The law, she said, validates the City Government of Davao’s commitment to improving the senior citizens’ well-being by providing them with a “Healthy and Productive Ageing Program,” a community-based program exclusive for Davao City residents 60 years old and above.CIO
