Establishing Age-friendly Communities in the Philippines: The Need to Empower Senior Citizens beyond the “CARD”

The Philippines’ transition toward an aging population calls for various agencies to address the evolving and diverse needs of older people. Notably, the Filipino subscription to filial piety, which emphasizes respect and caring for older people, encourages families and communities to promote the welfare of our senior citizens. However, a recent article noted that Filipinos’ caring behaviors toward their older family members might be slowly fading, as evidenced by increasing cases of family abandonment/abuse and emerging negative perceptions about aging. Hence, it is imperative for the government to support older people across settings where they continue to live and function. The National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC), created in 2019, serves as the lead agency for promoting the welfare and protection of Filipino older adults. Meanwhile, various policies for senior citizens commonly involve socioeconomic provisions, such as social pension, retirement benefits, mandatory insurance coverage (PhilHealth), and discount/tax incentives on several purchases or services. Other relevant programs are also reported, including protection from abuse and neglect, promotion of health and wellness, reinforcement of roles in nation-building, navigation of health and social services, and coordination of various agency services for older people. Nonetheless, there is limited data on the implementation and evaluation of these programs on the ground. A multisectoral approach, ensuring that all stakeholders’ voices are heard and appropriate resources are pooled, is crucial to foster healthy aging. It is imperative to empower communities to integrate various factors that influence the well-being of older people. Thus, the World Health Organization (WHO) advocates the development of age-friendly environments (AFEs) to reinforce the physical and mental capacities, including other health-related attributes of older people throughout their life course. There are eight interconnected domains to promote AFEs: community and healthcare, communication and information, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, housing, outdoor buildings and spaces, and transportation. This indicates that supporting older people requires systems thinking, which includes identifying and managing individual needs, existing community resources, and environmental factors that impact their overall functioning. It should be noted that each domain