RESPECT for elders is one of the well-known attributes of Filipino culture and heritage. In fact, our Constitution contains several provisions that deal with the protection of our lolos and lolas. It is the duty of the family and the State to take care of the elderly members of society. However, despite our strong tradition of filial piety, senior citizens still suffer from abuse, particularly from online scams and disinformation initiated by some unscrupulous individuals.
According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), fraudsters mostly target senior citizens. In 2021, the NBI reported that scammers took anywhere between P1 million and P17 million from their victims. One such case involved a 67-year-old widow who lost ?8 million in a âlove scamâ, wherein an individual would try woo the victim using fabricated stories and try to solicit money after establishing their relationship through online chats.
There are also perpetrators who use disinformation to trick their victims. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) discovered many websites posing as the agencyâs official page and use these to post false announcements to deceive senior citizens regarding their pension.
We laud the DSWD, the NBI, and other concerned agencies who have taken immediate action to prevent these scams targeting the elderly.
Cases of elder fraud grew exponentially after the COVID-19 pandemic as the use of information communication technology tools became more prevalent. In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that elder fraud cost elderly Americans over $996 million (approx. ?52 billion) in 2020. In Singapore, it was reported that phishing and investment scams more than doubled in 2021 compared to previous years with some elders losing sizeable portions of their life savings to these schemes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that various strategies have been put in place in different countries, but evidence about its effectiveness remains limited. It is expected that there will be even more of these cases as the number of Filipino senior citizens continue to increase. The Commission on Population and Development notes that there are 9.2 million Filipinos aged 60 years old and older as of 2020, or equivalent to 8.5 percent of the total population. Citing a 2004 study among urban poor communities, Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit noted that around 40 percent of the older respondents have personally experienced various forms of abuse including physical and verbal, ridicule and discrimination, and negligence. Worse, the perpetrators are often children and family of the victims.
To help in the efforts to prevent senior abuse, I filed Senate Bill No. 639, which seeks to provide proper and adequate protection to our senior citizens. Taking care of our senior citizens has long been an advocacy of ours and in the measure we filed, we emphasize that the abuse of senior citizens is not a private matter but a public and serious one which should be the concern of the entire society. It provides clear penalties covering not just acts confined in the virtual realm, but also physical abuse.
The institutional support being proposed to victims of senior citizen abuse would encourage and foster participative involvement of society and afford our senior citizens greater protection. A Senior Citizen Help Desk shall be created in every barangay to provide immediate assistance to the victims of abuse. The DSWD, together with the local government units will be tasked to provide victims with temporary shelters, provide counseling, psycho-social services and recovery, rehabilitation programs and livelihood assistance as needed.
In a public hearing on the bill conducted last April 18, 2023 by the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights chaired by Sen. Francis Tolentino, it was noted that there is insufficient data on elder abuse, hindering the creation of targeted policies to protect senior citizens. Whatâs alarming is that, according to the WHO, around 1 in 6 people globally who are 60 years and older experienced some form of abuse in the community setting in 2020. National Commission on Senior Citizens (NCSC) Chairperson Franklin Quijano said that while elder abuse is not as frequent in the Philippines compared to other countries, it is critical to be proactive in preventing these abuses.
With the institutionalization of an enabling framework and proper mechanisms, we will take a significant step towards ensuring the protection and promotion of the rights, dignity, security and welfare of our senior citizens.
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Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 18 yearsâ9 years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and 9 as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.
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Email: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara/PN
