Abandoned by their children, seniors find new ‘home’

(Last of two parts)

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — Mario could barely stand and walk after falling down the stairs of his rented house in 2003. But there was no one to care for him.

He was ready to give up on life when nuns brought him to the House of the Lord, a home for abandoned elderly run by the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) in Talisay City, southern Cebu.

He found a family at the MOP.

“Here, everything is free: food, medicine, doctor, nurse, and accommodation,” he says in his native Cebuano, adding lightly: “Even the coffin and burial are free.”

Mario knows his life will end soon but is comforted that he is not alone. “I’m old,” he says. “I’m at the sunset of my life. And God is my only refuge.”

Abandoned elderly in Central Visayas are commonly taken to homes that are run by religious institutions or private groups.

There are nine such homes in the region—eight in Cebu province and one in Bohol province.

Of the eight homes in Cebu, four are in Cebu City: Gasa sa Gugma—Home of the Dying Destitutes; Blessed Mother Josephine Vannini Home for the Aged; Life Care Residences Philippines; and Loving Home Nursing Care.

The four others are House of the Lord and Seven Sisters Servants of Mary Elderly Home Inc., both in Talisay; Hospicio de San Jose de Barili in Barili town; and Ramon Durano Foundation Home for the Aged in Danao City.

The lone home for the aged in Bohol is the Godofredo Fuertes Homestay in Maribojoc town.

Social Pension Program

There is no government-run home for the aged in Cebu province (considered the wealthiest in terms of assets at P35.6 billion), or in Cebu City (fifth richest with P33.8 billion).

But it is not as though the government is doing nothing for the elderly, says Arteria Degamo, lead coordinator of programs for the elderly under the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7).

Degamo says indigent Fili¬pinos aged 60 and older are provided a monthly stipend of P500 as part of the Social Pension Program, in compliance with Republic Act No. 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

Those qualified to receive the social pension are senior citizens who are sickly or disabled; are not receiving pension from the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, or Veterans Pension; and have no permanent source of income or regular support from relatives.

This year, the DSWD is seeking an allocation of P7.5 billion for the Social Pension Program to accommodate more indigent and abandoned elderly.

Lawyer Earl Bonachita, former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City chapter, notes that RA 9994 cites as state policy the need to prioritize the elderly, but does not penalize family members who abandon them.

“Unfortunately, there are very few laws protecting the elderly,” says Bonachita. “I believe there’s a need for legislation to push for the protection of the elderly from being neglected or abandoned.”

House Bill No. 5336 or the proposed Parents Welfare Act of 2014 required that children provide their old and sickly parents support for sustenance, clothing, residence, medical attendance and other amenities that would enable them to lead a normal life.

The bill mandated a penalty of imprisonment of one month to six months or a fine of not more than P100,000 if the respondent failed to provide support for three consecutive months without justifiable cause.

Unfortunately, the measure was not passed.

‘Hidden euthanasia’

Retired Regional Trial Court judge Simeon Dumdum Jr. stresses the need to strengthen family ties and instill in young people the value of caring for the elderly.

“The youth must remember that they, too, will become old,” he says.

Dumdum says old people should be valued and respected both in the family and in society because when they were young, they were the backbone of the economic, social and religious life of the country.

Now that they are old, he says, they are sources of guidance and wisdom for the young.

In 2016, on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis issued a message to Catholic dio¬ceses worldwide to establish homes for the aged, among other facilities, as a “monument” of the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.

He denounced the neglect and abandonment of the elderly, calling it “hidden euthanasia.”

“Violence against the elderly is as inhuman as that against children. How many times are old people just discarded? This is the result of a throwaway culture that is hurting our world so much,” said the 83-year-old Pontiff.

“People who do not take care of grandparents and do not treat them well have no future. Such people lose their memory and their roots,” he said.

In 1987, then Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal established Gasa sa Gugma. The nursing home run by the Missionaries of Charity now serves at least 60 abandoned and sick seniors.

Before he retired in 2011, Vidal also set up the St. John Paul II Home for Elderly Priests, which now cares for old and sick priests of the archdiocese.

Elderly care

Growing old is a part of life that everyone should prepare for, says gerontologist Dr. Amparo Florida.

“Aging is a normal process from birth to death. It is universal, inevitable and irreversible. It is actually a complicated process, but we should not be afraid of it,” says Florida, who is president of the Golden Center of Cebu Inc. (GCCI).

An organization of senior citizens and retirees, the GCCI has been training young family members on the proper ways of nurturing the elderly.

“Taking care of the elderly is very tedious. It’s not easy. It consumes much of your time. But someone has to care for them. We can’t just leave people in old age to die,” Florida says.

She points out that elderly care in the country needs to be enhanced, and that there should be more foster homes for older people.

Some families secure the services of caregivers whose monthly pay ranges from P8,000 to P20,000, but others put their elders in old age homes.

Florida says she plans to transform the GCCI into a retirement home for seniors with no children, who are single, or whose relatives are abroad.

In such a retirement home, she says, elderly people can come and go, interact with other seniors, and experience an environment of affection.

“The elderly need to socialize with others,” Florida says. “They can play games, enjoy music, and engage in different activities like gardening in order to keep busy. They should have something to look forward to. Otherwise, they will experience depression.”

Precious

Fr. Rowell Gumalay, head of the MOP’s House of the Lord, says family members should care for the elderly, spend quali¬ty time with them, and make them feel loved.

“This is the time to make people aware that the elderly are precious no matter what their conditions are. Inasmuch as they need us, it’s actually the other way around,” he says, adding:

“It’s always good to put ourselves in their shoes. What will happen to us in the next 40-50 years? What if I myself will be abandoned when I get old? Where do I go? Who will take care of me?

“Like any other person, these abandoned elderly are God’s masterpiece. And we are called to be missionaries of mercy to them.”