BAGUIO CITY – Filipinos may now expect to live to an average of 71.79 years old, slightly up compared to 71.41 years since 2021, the United Nations (UN) says.
Such life expectancy is a 0.18 percent increase from 2023. Life expectancy for Filipinos in 2023 was 71.66 years, a 0.18 percent increase from 2022.
Life expectancy, as defined by the Department of Health (DOH), is the average time a human being is expected to live, based on his/her live birth, current age, and other demographic factors such as gender and Philippine country birth. In layman’s terms, it refers to the number of years a person can expect to live.
Philippine life expectancy in 2022 was 71.53 years, a 0.18 percent increase from 2021, while 2021, life expectancy was 71.41 years, a 0.18 percent increase from 2020.
Countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
By comparison, current life expectancy for Brunei is 76.48 years, a 0.18 percent increase from 2023; Cambodia, 70.74 years, a 0.28 percent increase from 2023; and Indonesia, 72.50 years, a 0.24 percent increase from 2023.
For Laos, 68.9 years; Malaysia, 76.79 years, a 0.19 percent increase from 2023; and Myanmar, 67.96 years, a 0.27 percent increase from 2023.
For Singapore, 84.19 years, a 0.15 percent increase from 2023; Thailand, 77.92, a 0.23 percent increase from 2023; and, Vietnam, 75.91 years, a 0.18 percent increase from 2023.
Studying the figures released by the UN, the Philippines ranks sixth among ASEAN having the highest lifespan, Singapore being first with highest lifespan, Thailand is second and Brunei coming in as the third.
In Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-CAR) found out in its latest 2020 survey that elderly citizens aged 60 years old and over constitute 9.3 percent of household population, or numbered close to 166,678 and broken down as 90,625 females and 76,052 males.
Nationwide, of the 106.7 million populace, 9.22 million are senior citizens, the elderly population having expanded in the last two decades.
Reflecting on the doubling of the elderly population, the Population Commission (PopCom) said: “The number of seniors is on the rise due to better health and socio-economic conditions. Seniors are better educated and have healthier lifestyles.”
Gains in Filipinos’ life expectancy is an understated statement in public health. Increase in longevity may be attributed to better nutrition, improvement in public health, better sanitation, increased access to clean water and inoculation to prevent early childhood diseases.
One query troubling aging experts in the Philippines at the turn of the century, is, whether such gains in the average years of life actually translates into more years in good health or only prolongs disability among older persons.
Still, any Filipino reaching the age of 80 years old or more is akin to a sporting triumph. In CAR, for instance, the same could be said of great grandparents who have reached life expectancy well above the average.
Example, consider Apo Whang-od, world-famous mambabatok of Buscalan, Kalinga, who has reached the age of 107 years, the remaining Cordilleran World War II veterans and other Cordilleran Lolos and Lolas who are living testimonies to aging gracefully.
For these great Cordilleran grandparents, they concentrated on living “on the certain,” rather than “the merely possible.” The merely possible showing that “Statistics show that the chances of dying – sooner or later – are infinitely greater.”
That being the case, Apo Whang-od, the Cordilleran grandparents and the World War II veterans chose dwelling on the certain and have thrown out their windows the merely possible.
In fact, we envy them. For these grandparents can relate very much to the lyrics of the song, “When I’m 64.” Sang by the Beatles, a country song for elders, delightful in its satire in which elders hear the song with youth thumping in their hearts.
Recognizing contributions of the elderly to Philippine development, the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) is the lead in organizing yearly activities that “honor the invaluable legacy of Filipino senior citizens.” Hence, Elderly Week is celebrated every first week of October.
One of the core values which NCSC advocates is respect for senior citizens, NCSC explaining that through senior citizen’s life experiences and wisdom, they have contributed significantly to the fabric of Philippine society.
By honoring them, NCSC underscored, it is an expression of gratitude for their enduring commitment to the nation. “Our elderly citizens are living treasures, embodying the history and traditions of the country. Celebrating Elderly Filipino Week allows us to recognize and preserve this cultural heritage for future generations.”
Two weeks earlier at the end of October, the House of Representatives made two moves that will now help senior citizens through their retirement. Two bills were simultaneously filed, one ensuring access to senior citizen employment and the other exempting them from paying taxes.
House Bill No. 10985 or the “Employment Opportunities for Senior Citizens and Private Entities Incentives Act” was passed on final reading and ensures access to employment opportunities for seniors who still have the capacity and interest to work.
Possible jobs include clerical or secretarial work, consultancy, cleaning or janitorial services, event organizing, teaching, kitchen help, sales assistance and business process outsourcing.
House Bill No. 10989 is pending approval, seeking to exempt senior citizens who are still working, from paying taxes. In the bill’s explanatory note, it stated that 75 percent of the country’s 9.22 million senior citizens were not covered by social security or did not have retirement plans.
Among pensioners, 60 percent receive Php5,000.00 or below, every month, while 42 percent remain in the labor force. Hence the bill seeks to increase their meager savings through tax exemption so that by the time they retire, they can have adequate financial protection.
True enough. A Php 5,000.00 monthly pension is barely adequate to cover necessities – given the inflation – giving difficulty to retirees with no substantial retirement plan. Several studies have shown this lack of financial education hitting many Filipinos.
In a statement, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies bared that lack of retirement planning compounded by fractures in financial knowledge exist among Filipinos to manage their retirement finance.
Either these funds are left in savings accounts producing zero income, are depleted due to bad business decisions or extravagantly spent. Lack of financial literacy and discipline contributes to early depletion of retirement funds.
Retirees continuing to work is not a new concept. Several countries like Singapore and Taiwan have such programs. In Singapore, for instance, its law mandates employers to offer re-employment to retirees as long as the retirees are willing and able.
Philippine House bills 10985 and 10989 are legislative measures intended to help protect seniors from discrimination and ageism and a reflection of how the government takes care of its elderly population.
Seniors are in the sundown of their lives. It is fitting, to say the least, that the government is trying to ensure they enjoy retirement benefits while they still can.
On the lighter side, many ask Daily Laborer: “How does one expect to live longer and age gracefully?” Daily Laborer, who confesses he does not know the answer, asks a question in return: “Why do we grow old?”
But fair enough, though, that we try to embrace the ageless journey. Time, with its steady drumbeat, marches on, slipping through our fingertips like grains of sand in an hourglass. Yet as we trace the arc of human history and our unrelenting quest for vitality, it becomes abundantly clear that the pursuit of life well lived is as timeless as the stars.
Often we hear co- Cordillerans say with humorous gusto that “age is just a number.” This phrase is oft-repeated when friends see birthdays of their friends posted on Facebook. Others, more humorous, would greet their friends celebrating their birthdays by commenting, “Nuwang laeng ti lumaklakay!” (It’s only the carabao that grows old). This is for the males.
How about for the females? Well, you may have read on Facebook of females saying “Happy birthday” to their co-female friends and merrily adding the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s song, “. . . May you build a ladder to the stars/And climb on every rung/May you stay forever young, forever young. . .”
We stand, all of us, on the threshold of an ageless journey, if we are to analyze the humors of our co-Cordillerans greeting their friends a happy birthday. A journey not confined to the fleetingness of youth but expanding into the embrace of a life deeply and richly experienced.
Too many times have we also heard of people who, seeing their friends or acquaintances after not having seen them for a long time, derisively blurt,” Ayna, apo, linmakalakay ka met!” Or, “Ayna, apo, binmakebaket ka met!”
And the person addressed with such demeaning phrase calmly looks at his/her tormentor and with quiet dignity responds by saying, “Salamat ken ni Apo Dios ta inted na pay laeng daytoy nga kaatiddog ti biag ko nga saan nga nadanon ti dadduma.”
Such a majestic phrase puts any tormentor of elderlies to shame.
Hence, let us engage with the intricate beauty of aging, not as an inevitable descent but as an ascent to wisdom, wellness, compassionate with enlightened knowledge and a life’s worth of moments embraced and cherished.
