By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
Filipinos, by nature, dread the idea of putting an elderly parent in an institution, as if it represents a place of hopelessness and disengagement, if not for withering and dying.
This cultural backdrop makes a proposal in Congress for senior citizen daycare centers in every barangay especially relevant. Rep. Milagros Aquino-Magsaysay’s House Bill No. 10362, the Senior Citizens Day Care Center Act of 2024, wants places within a family’s community where the needs of the elderly may be addressed sufficiently.
Community-based day care centers offer a promising solution, providing daytime venues for seniors needing recreational, educational, health, and socio-cultural programs while still living at home. So there’s no guilt, here, for earning family members who need to function at work or younger members busy with school and social exposure.
These centers are not mere facilities but pivotal hubs ensuring elderly programs and services are accessible to seniors, their families, and caregivers. Managed directly by the barangay, they offer a nonresidential setting for fewer than 24 hours, while being so close to home.
I hope this is something our beloved silvery and golden citizens look forward to enjoying.
Death for dumping trash?
For the good people of Abra, let’s be clear: the death penalty is prohibited under the Constitution, so any attempt to impose it, especially for a minor offense like illegal dumping of garbage, is both illegal and grotesque. The barangay ordinance in Bangued that proposes shooting third-time garbage violators is a shocking violation of human rights and an egregious affront to the right to life.
This ordinance, crafted by Barangay Calaba Chairman Renato Brasuela and several council members, trivializes the sanctity of life and reveals a severe disregard for the rule of law. While proper waste management is crucial, threatening death for non-compliance is barbaric and counterproductive. Such draconian measures incite fear and chaos, not civic responsibility.
Even if this ordinance is never implemented, the sick and twisted idea behind it may settle in the deep recesses of people’s minds. It wouldn’t be surprising if one day — God forbid — some property owner shoots a person who happens to throw garbage on their lot, thinking such brutality is justified. The suspension of Brasuela and his cohorts by Mayor Mila Valera underscores the gravity of their misconduct.
The Commission on Human Rights rightly condemns this ordinance. Let’s not allow extreme measures like these to undermine human dignity and further exacerbate social injustice in the country.
* * *
SHORT BURSTS. For comments or reactions, email firingline@ymail.com or tweet @Side_View via X app (formerly Twitter). Read current and past issues of this column at http://www.thephilbiznews.com