An elderly person begs on a street in the Philippine capital Manila. (Photo: The City of Manila)
Authorities in the Philippines have signed contracts with private organizations to re-employ senior citizens and people with disabilities to eradicate their poverty and miseries.
Manila City mayor Honey Lacuna said a contract was signed with an Asian pizza company on Aug. 10 to offer employment to retired citizens and persons with disabilities who wish to work.
Earlier, the Philippine government signed agreements with online food and grocery delivery companies where retirees and disabled persons can package food and groceries.
The moves come in handy as recent studies suggest many elderly people in the Catholic-majority nation suffer from poverty following their retirement.
Philippine law sets 65 as the mandatory age for retirement, while 60 is the optional age of retirement, which enables them to get groceries and transport at discounted prices.
The Senior Citizens’ Association of the Philippines says many retirees wish to work beyond their retirement as they feel they are like a burden to their families.
“The retirement limit of 65 years of age is a form of discrimination. This means that our class – the senior citizens – cannot compete with younger generations. But this is not true. Countries like Japan and the United States of America do not have this kind of age limit. As long as the person is fit to work, he has the right to do so,” said Roel Jarabo, a member of the association.
Mayor Lacuna said that they would rehire senior citizens and persons with disabilities to work in pizza stores as long as they are “fit to work”.
“Of course, we will not ask them – retirees and persons with disability- muscle-intensive work like lifting chairs or tables. They could be assigned at the counter or perhaps supervisors to oversee quality food control,” Lacuna told reporters.
She noted that the scheme to offer jobs to the elderly and the disabled is a brainchild of former Manila mayor, Isko Moreno Domagoso.
Domagoso ran for president in the May 9 polls but lost to current president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and was placed fourth in the final vote count.
“This was a project of the former administration, and it was a good one. Here in the City of Manila, we prioritize our senior citizens and the disabled. This is also a way to combat discrimination to make them feel that they are still relevant though retired,” Lacuna added.
She said that the companies aim to open doors to senior citizens and the disabled, which in fact encourages these two classes that are still productive members of society.
Nancy Diaz, president of Saint Vincent de Paul Foundation, a retirement home in Manila, lauded the initiative to lessen the number of street dwellers in the country’s capital.
“Sad to say but 65 percent of our residents here are more than 60 years old. They were in the streets because many of them did not save money for their retirement. So, they ended up in the streets… If we provide jobs for them, including the deaf and the mute, they would not resort to begging,” Diaz told UCA news.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace said the move will uplift the status of persons with disability.
“Our records show that of the household population of 100.1 million, 2.113 million Filipinos, or 1.57%, have a disability. We should be a country where all persons with disability, including children and their families, have full access to inclusive health and rehabilitation services… giving them jobs will make this a reality,” Father Tony Labiao Jr., the commission’s executive secretary, said in a statement.
The Bishops’ Office on the Protection of Minors and the Vulnerable called on people to be kind and compassionate to people with disabilities, especially children.
“It is difficult but persons with disability would work in a food industry like a pizza store, it is not only the owner but the customers themselves who must show acts of kindness to those who are disabled,” said Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos Diocese, a member of the commission.