Policy Brief, February 2023

Older people’s lives at risk: Addressing the

crisis in the Philippines

Key messages
• The food, fuel and finance crisis has amplified the effects of existing
economic and social insecurity and further damaged the living conditions
of older people in the Philippines.
• High inflation and falling household incomes have adversely affected the
food security of older people and their levels of nutrition.
• Increased transport costs have made it difficult for older people to access
health and social services.
• The impacts have hit those older people who do not have access to social
protection hardest.
• The existing social pension (SocPen) program that covers ’indigent’ older
people has limited poverty focus and excludes many poor older people.
• Long-term solutions are needed to address the drivers of older people’s
insecurity: better targeting of the SocPen program; promoting livelihood
opportunities; expanding mobile health care services; and including older
people’s voices in policymaking.

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The Philippines is not new to struggling through one crisis after another. However, the
relentless shocks brought about by natural hazards and climate change-related disasters,
combined with recent economic blows including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine
war, have plunged the country into inflation, debt, and crisis.

In the first year of the pandemic alone, the country saw 12.9 million unemployed in April
2020, with almost 19 million families facing income losses without savings in the third
quarter of 2020, and 15.5 million families going hungry. 1 By the end of 2020, Philippine’s
headline inflation was at 3.5 per cent, significantly higher than 2019’s 2.5 per cent. In 2021
it continued its uptrend as it increased to 4 per cent and escalated to 7.7 per cent in
October 2022 -- the highest recorded inflation since December 2008.2 Similarly, the
country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in 2020 took a hit falling to 3,271.65
Philippine pesos (PHP) from 3,664.79 PHP (around 59.8 USD) in 2019. 3 Although the GDP
per capita has been slowly rising since then, the purchasing power of the PHP remained
low.4

The COVID-19 lockdown and quarantine restrictions have had adverse impacts on the
service and tourism industries, making it even harder for Filipinos to earn enough to make
ends meet. Since 2020, the country has been hit by 54 tropical cyclones5, severely draining
Filipinos’ already depleted resources.

As a result, for older people especially, meeting basic needs, such as access to quality food
and medicines, has become much harder. This was the conclusion of a COVID-19 rapid
needs assessment of older Filipinos carried out by HelpAge International and Coalition of
Services of the Elderly (COSE) in August 2020. It showed that 57 per cent of older people at
that time had difficulty accessing food, and 52 per cent of older people had difficulty
accessing medicines.6 Older people also highlighted that they did not have resources to buy
enough food nor food of high quality and nutritional value.6

Respondent A from Tacloban City (19 August 2022) recounts: “Even myself who receives
pension can hardly support my daily needs now with the recent crisis. The budget becomes
so limited that the food on the table can no longer provide the minimum nutritional needs of
an older person.”

In the Philippines most older people, together with other disadvantaged groups, are
engaged in the informal economy such as fishing, farming, and selling, and if engaged in
formal employment, they are normally employed on short term contracts. Earning levels in
these jobs are unstable and highly dependent on environmental factors – aquatic systems,
farms, and market spaces are significantly affected by abrupt changes in the surroundings,
such as flooding and other crises. In addition, the impacts of the economic crisis have been
especially tangible for older people who have little or no social protection.7

Impacts of the food, fuel, and finance crisis

The study methodology is a qualitative research design comprising five in-depth interviews,
three focus group discussions (FGDs), and 15 key informant interviews (KII). The FGDs
were conducted in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur; Tacloban, Leyte; and Victoria, Northern
Samar. The focus groups were composed of older people in the community and included
individuals living alone, women’s representatives, fisherfolks and farmers’ representatives,
indigenous people, and people living with a disability (6-8 members). An in-depth interview
was conducted with a leader from an older people’s associations in each of the target areas.

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Finally, KIIs were conducted with representatives of the Municipal/City Social Welfare and
Development Office, Municipal/City Health Office, Municipal/City Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Office, Municipal/City Local Government Operations Office, and Office of Senior
Citizens Affairs. The recorded interviews and discussions were transcribed and translated
from respective local languages to English. The translations were then coded, and similar
codes were categorised into themes.

All the interviews and discussions reflected how the recent hardships people have
experienced in relation to food, fuel, and finances are rooted in long term financial
insecurity but have more recently been exacerbated by COVID-19, environmental hazards,
climate shocks and the impacts of the Ukraine-Russia war. Older people attribute their
recent challenges from food insecurity to economic difficulties that have developed over a
long period and increasing food prices. Respondent A, Tacloban City (19 August 2022)
stated: “For me, fuel, food and financial crisis is just one – all boiling down to financial
needs of older people. The reason why you’re hungry is because you don’t have enough
money to buy food for yourself and for your family.”

The food, fuel and finance crisis has further driven people into poverty. Our respondents
were acutely aware of the effects of rising fuel costs on other goods and services. Being a
primary commodity in making other goods, fuel price increases lead to inevitable price hikes
on all market goods and services.8 FGD2 Participant 1, Tacloban City (19 August 2022)
recounted: “This is the first time that I have ever experienced this kind of crisis, the prices
of fuel went up crazy, it reached almost a hundred, all items have increased simultaneously.
It’s scary. When will this price increase stop?”

FGD1 Participant 1, an older person living with a disability from Bunawan Agusan Del Sur (1
September 2022), recalled: “Before, the price of rice and other commodities are at least
tolerable, unlike this time, everything is very expensive. The fish and pork are priced 200
PHP (around 3.7 USD) and 350 PHP (around 6.4 USD) respectively. That is why we instead
only prepare vegetable soup.”

With small and unpredictable incomes and less help from their family members, older
people resort to strategies such as compromising on the quality and quantity of their food.
Lack of high-quality nutritious food takes its toll on their health.9, 10 This in turn, makes it
harder for them to continue working. This issue was highlighted during two out of the three
FGDs (Tacloban and Bunawan). In Tacloban FGD, two out of eight participants mentioned
this, while in Bunawan, three out of nine participants stressed that low quality food had a
toll on their health. Respondent C also from Bunawan, Agusan Del Sur (1 September 2022)
commented: “It is only natural for senior citizens to acquire high blood pressure because
they are only eating salted, dried fish, they are eating salt [to fit up the budget] and they do
not have money to buy medicines.”

Aside from limiting their food intake, older people also resort to going back to work and
getting more casual jobs to earn money. Since most older Filipinos live with their offspring,
and many family members have lost their jobs, the participants talked about how they felt
compelled to go back to work to support both themselves and their wider family.

Respondent E, Bunawan, Agusan Del Sur (1 September 2022) recounted: “In previous
years, it seems like at least there is something to eat but I'm having a hard time during the
pandemic. My grandchildren need financial support for their studies…Sometimes I can’t give
something to my grandchildren because I prioritise my vitamins, and medicine so that since

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I am physically fit at least I can find some other income. I asked the Mayor [of town] if I
could keep working even after my retirement, and I also sell tuna products, dried goods and
thrifted products to provide for my and my grandchildren’s needs.”

Several social and health services such as provision of hypertension medicines, vitamins and
laboratory tests for older people, became even less accessible during the crisis, especially
for people living in remote areas. The rising costs of public transport to access health tests
and medications such as hypertension drugs, meant many older people missed their
appointments and risked their health.

Respondent F, Caloocan City (18 August 2022) described the difficult choices they faced:
“Many of us opt to not go in these programmes anymore. We endure expensive rides and
long queues only to know upon arriving in the venue that the medicines the local
government promised was already out of stock, since no priority was given to older persons.
With many medicines listed in my prescription, only 1 or 2 will be provided by these
programmes for free. Older people’s energy and resources are just put to waste.”

Availability of accessible health services for older people is essential to address their
immediate health needs during times of crisis. In 2013 the Coalition of Services of the
Elderly (COSE) together with HelpAge International piloted a community-based project
(Mobile Healthcare Services project) to support older people in communities affected by
Typhoon Haiyan. The project aimed to provide accessible basic health care for older people
including health assessments and monitoring, provision of medicines, psychosocial support,
and health education in their own homes.11 This project employed mobile nurses to visit the
homes of older people in remote areas needing healthcare provision. This has operated
successfully in nine areas in Leyte and Northern Samar for 10 years, especially during the
recent crisis when older people struggled to access healthcare services.

Limited social protection for older people

When older people were asked about their awareness of the programs, policies, and
services that were implemented to support them through the recent crises, older people
unanimously said there were almost none that adequately supported them in these trying
times. They also stressed that although many were willing and able to contribute ideas and
feedback on existing programs and activities, there are virtually no opportunities for
expressing their views and influencing policy making or program planning.

Philippine legislature has begun to recognise the importance of older people in society by
enshrining their rights and welfare in the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines 12
and in several enacted laws. However, although these laws have served as the basis for
various programs, interventions, and activities, in seeking to promote the wellbeing of older
people, their implementation has been criticised for being inefficient, untransparent, and
unfair.

Since 2011, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been
implementing the social pension (SocPen) program, which has provided a non-contributory
monthly allowance of 500 PHP (around 9.1 USD) to ‘indigent’ older people. This is provided
only to people aged 60 and over who are frail, have a serious illness or disability, who do
not receive other pensions nor other sources of income or regular support from relatives. In
2022 this amount was increased to 1,000 PHP (around 18.3 USD). However, qualitative
data gathered, and official reports show that many older people still struggle.

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Reports on the Annual Poverty Indicator Survey (2020)13, for example, show that SocPen
together with contributory social insurance programs has considerably increased the
national pension coverage rate by as much as 78.5 per cent. However, recent analysis 14
based on the same data questions SocPen’s effectiveness in reaching poor older people: two
out of five SocPen beneficiaries (41.2 per cent) belong to the upper 50 per cent of the per
capita income distribution leaving other, poorer eligible older people without coverage.

This evidence is in line with our qualitative research findings. Study participants from
different locations emphasised that the implementation of SocPen was problematic. They
felt that many eligible older people are not being enrolled on SocPen while others who do
not appear to qualify are being accepted. Allegations of corruption, undue favors and
patronage were raised by participants concerning the process several times. Although the
law in question provides a definition of ‘indigent’, the guidelines and rules for validating
applicants’ qualifications are unclear. 15 In addition, the replacement of a beneficiary due to
subsequent disqualification (e.g. because of death), being reliant on the decision of certain
local government personnel means that only a number of people have almost full discretion
for handling registration. This leads to distrust and complaints from older people who know
they are qualified but are not enlisted to the program.

FGD2 participant 2 from Tacloban City (19 August 2022) stated: “I see a big problem
because the IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) is not being followed. They would
announce, for instance, that this coming release of social pension, those who are 65 will get
their allowance but when the master list was released, there were those who were only
aged 64. On the application process alone, there is ‘palakasan’ (patronage system),
relatives, seniors who are close to officers get included on the list even without validation.
Even if they are not indigent, they are included on the list. I placed an x on individuals who
are not qualified but when the master list was released, this person was still included…I am
disappointed because there are senior citizens who are 71, 68 and 69 years old, really
indigent but they are not included”.

Other potential benefits for older Filipinos which emanate from enacted laws are the
statutory discounts which aim to help older people with spending on basic necessities such
as electricity and water bills, medicines, basic goods, and transport. However, as our data
shows, these are seldom taken up by older people for two reasons. First, many retail stores,
food establishments, and public transport operators - especially smaller ones - do not apply
these discounts. Secondly, many older people are too timid to ask for discounts they are
entitled to.

Older people surviving through mutual aid

With limited state support, a common way older people survive is through mutual aid.
Capitalizing on their close-knit relations with other community members and the Filipino
culture of mutual aid, they get by through sharing their meagre resources with one another.

However, sharing similar challenges, they have limits to how far they can support each
other. Thus, individual coping strategies also come in to play – positive thinking, tightening
spending, and finding other sources of income to help them manage until the next crisis.

FGD3 Participant 1 from Northern Samar (23 August 2022) explains: “Usually, I equate
prayer with hope, hoping that we will be able to survive this crisis, because this too shall
pass…”

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On the other hand, to cope with the crisis, Respondent E from Bunawan, Agusan Del Sur (1
September 2022) started selling old/used clothes and dried goods. With no assistance from
local government and NGOs, she is left to manage by herself, relying on relatives for
support.

Recommendations
Short-term programs and activities are essential to address the consequences of the food,
fuel and finance crisis in the Philippines. To tackle the drivers of older people’s insecurity
that heighten their vulnerability to crises, long-term solutions are also needed.

The design and implementation of public policies and programs must be informed through
assessments and recommendations of older people themselves. Ultimately, there must be a
shift from “making for them” to “making with them”. Improved policy and programs can
enhance social protection, provision of services and livelihood opportunities for older people.

1. Amend the implementing law (REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11916) and

implementation guidelines of the SocPen program. The Legislature (Senate and
Congress) should amend the implementing laws and implementing agencies such as
National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) and the Department of Social Welfare
and Development (DSWD) should revise the guidelines for implementation of the
SocPen program to be more standardised and transparent. This may entail revising
the screening criteria and the process of enrolling older people in the SocPen
program and providing more detail to avoid ambiguity by implementers on ground.
This is key to respond to repeated criticisms from the public that the current
selection process breeds corruption.

2. Improve social protection targeting and coverage. National government

agencies seeking to better target and deliver support services to older people,
including the DSWD and NCSC, should fully adopt the Senior Citizens Registration
and Information System (SCRIS), a national centralised database of older people’s
records gathered by local government units with the direct participation of older
people. This resource was developed by the Coalition of Services of the Elderly, Inc.
(COSE). The questionnaire used to gather older people’s data was designed in
consultation with older people and ageing experts to ensure that key data on this
sector of the population was recorded. This was to ensure a rigorous baseline for
developing programs and services that are adequate and appropriate for older
Filipinos’ needs. Regular collection and updating of this data will be invaluable to
improving the social pension process and resolving the recurring concerns over
outdated records of older people qualified for the SecPen scheme.

3. Enhance employment and livelihood opportunities. The Department of Labor

and Employment (DOLE) and other relevant departments and subsidiaries should
actively engage in promoting an enabling environment for providing employment and
livelihood opportunities for older people. Data show that although there are laws in
place to enforce anti-discrimination of older people in employment, a significant
number of older people remain unemployed and have no livelihood opportunities
despite being willing and able. This indicates a lack of implementation of employment
legislation, creating a mismatch between available opportunities in the market
versus the needs of older people. Older people themselves should be encouraged to

6
 work with local government units to ensure that their interests and capabilities are
matched with local opportunities which will be to its benefit also.

4. Establish community healthcare centres. Local governments should replicate the

activities implemented under the COSE’s Mobile Healthcare Services project,
especially in remote areas. Considering the many challenges older people face in not
being able to access healthcare services due to factors including the scarcity and
remoteness of healthcare service hubs, increases in transport costs, lack of financial
stability, it is essential for local governments to fund this program and recruit more
mobile nurses, providing them with geriatric trainings and equipment to bring
healthcare services within close reach of older people across the Philippines.

5. Improve oversight and accountability of public agencies. DSWD, the

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), NCSC, and other relevant local and national
implementing agencies should provide strict monitoring, guidelines and penalties to
ensure awareness and compliance in providing older people with statutory benefits
and discounts, including medicines, public transport, hotels, restaurants, recreational
centres, funeral and burial services, water and electricity. To promote these, local
governments should intensify and widen campaigns to disseminate information
regarding such statutory benefits and discounts.

6. Promote older people’s participation and voice. National and local governments
should open more avenues and opportunities to actively engage older people in
policy making and program planning to create more appropriate and effective
services. This would entail not only consulting older people, but actively involving
representatives from all older people’s organisations. This should include non-
governmental and private organisations advancing older people’s rights and welfare
within plannings, consultations, and formation of committees relevant to older
people’s interests. Active participation tools recommended by the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) include citizen forums, citizen juries,
tripartite commissions, working groups, citizen forums and dialogue processes. 16

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Endnotes

1
Albert, J. R. G., & Muñoz, M. S. (2022). The DSWD SocPen program: Why returning to a pro-poor focus is
essential. 0865, 1–8. Philippine Institute for Development Studies
2
Philippine Statistics Authority, Summary Inflation Report Consumer Price Index (2018=100): October 2022
(November 2022) https://psa.gov.ph/price-indices/cpi
ir/title/Summarypercent20Inflationpercent20Reportpercent20Consumerpercent20Pricepercent20Indexpercent20per
cent282018percent3D100percent29percent3Apercent20Octoberpercent202022, Accessed 08/11/2022
3
Trading Economics, Philippines GDP per capita, https://tradingeconomics.com/philippines/gdp-per-capita,
Accessed 10/11/2022
4
Baclig, Cristina Eloisa, Putin’s war on Ukraine and impact on PH prices, Philippine Daily Inquirer,
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1562204/putins-war-on-ukraine-and-impact-on-ph-prices#ixzz7kPN1UEgs
5
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, Annual Tropical Cyclone Tracks.
https://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/information/annual-cyclone-track, Accessed on November 7, 2021
6
HelpAge International and Coalition of Services of the Elderly, Inc., (August 2020) Covid-19 Rapid Needs
Assessment of Older People – The Philippines,
7
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), (2021). Socioeconomic Report 2021. Chapter 3 Overlay of
Economic Growth, Demographic Trends, and Physical Characteristics. 2021
8
International Monetary Fund, The Impact of Higher Oil Prices on the Global Economy, (December 2000),
https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/oil/2000/#III_B, Accessed 10/11/2022
9
Gundersen, C. & Ziliak, J. P., Food Insecurity and Health Outcomes, Health Affairs 2015 34:11, 1830-1839
10
Stuff JE, Casey PH, Szeto KL , Gossett JM , Robbins JM , Simpson PM , et al. Household food insecurity is
associated with adult health status. J Nutr. 2004; 134 ( 9 ): 2330 – 5
11
Garcia, Hazel Ayne (2016). Innovative projects by older people in Typhoon Haiyan-affected communities: A
manual and training guide. HelpAge International
12
Constitution (1987), Article XV, Section 4 (Ph).
13
Annual Poverty Indicator Survey. (2020).
https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/percent5BONSrevclearedpercent5Dpercent202020percent20APISpercent20Fin
alpercent20Report_
rev1percent20wopercent20comments_ONSF3_signed.pdf (accessed on October 27, 2022)
14
Albert, J. R. G., & Muñoz, M. S. (2022). The DSWD SocPen program: Why returning to a pro-poor focus is
essential. 0865, 1–8.
15
RA 9994 Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 (Ph)
16
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). (2021). Meaningful participation of older persons and
civil society in policymaking. Designing a Stakeholder Engagement and Participation Process. Guidance Note.
UNECE, Geneva, available online: https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2021-
09/UNECE%20meaningful%20participation%20guidance%20note.pdf, last accessed: 21.11.2022

HelpAge International is a global network of organisations promoting

the right of all older people to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives.

The Coalition of Services of the Elderly, Inc. (COSE) is a non-government

organisation in the Philippines working with older people since 1989. We focus
on the formation and strengthening of older people’ organisations; advocacy;
and partnership building. We promote community-based programs of older
people such as health care, residential care facility, age-friendly and
diversified livelihood, and inclusive disaster risk reduction and management.
Also, in partnership with other humanitarian actors, we strive to address
issues and concerns of older people in humanitarian crisis situations or
emergencies.

Written by Clarisse P. Aquino, Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE).

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Published by HelpAge International Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE)
PO Box 78840 29-A Magiting Street, Barangay, Village East
London SE1 7RL, UK Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Manila, Philippines
Tel +44 20 7278 7778 Tel: +63 2 8709 6567 | +63 2 8374 6416
[email protected] [email protected]
www.helpage.org www.cose.org.ph
Registered charity no. 288180

Front page photo by COSE.

@HelpAge HelpAge International

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