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Cebuano English Filipino

On Friday, a lawmaker underlined the necessity of an extensive and improved senior nutrition program in order to prioritize the health of the nation’s growing aged population.

While the government has already increased the financial benefits and privileges of senior citizens through the expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 and the law increasing the social pension of indigent senior citizens, according to Senior Citizens Party-list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes, the majority of these financial benefits are only used by senior citizens to purchase maintenance medications.

He pointed out that the elderly still require complete dietary care from the government.

“A person’s health often declines as they age as a result of several changes that occur in the body. As Filipinos get older, nutrition is becoming increasingly important and calls for special care. All age groups, but especially the elderly, require a healthy diet. It supplies the nutrition and energy needed to prevent or treat several ailments associated with a sedentary lifestyle “explained he.

The National Nutritional Council (NCC), in collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH), and local government entities, is required by the bill to create a comprehensive nutrition and wellness program for senior citizens that will be made available to every municipality for the education of all seniors.

To guarantee that their senior citizen constituents are able to enjoy a healthy diet in accordance with the proposed program and suited to their health status, LGUs, through their local health personnel, shall perform routine visits to every senior citizen under their jurisdiction.

“I trust that the DOH and DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) will include necessary provisions in the implementing rules and regulations when SB (Senate Bill) 1799 and HB 7064 become law,” he said. “I am concerned about making sure the nutrition program can be implemented well and would not be too cumbersome for the implementors.

Since the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) of cities and municipalities lacks the ground-level staff needed for home visits and monthly monitoring reports, he claimed that the implementation details could be found in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR), which should also include the senior citizen’s desk, medical professionals, nurses, nutritionists, barangay health workers, and barangay health centers among the implementors.

He also said that the mayors, OSCAs, barangay chairpersons, and barangay councils ought to have accountability and responsibility over the IRR.

“Local and federal funds may be used to finance implementation. Investments in public health and economic stimulus should be addressed when funding the nutrition program “said he.

He argued that the IRR should explicitly state that the Department of Health, the National Nutrition Council, and the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, or FNRI, will be in charge of creating the nutrition programs.

He emphasized that privacy controls must also be included in the overall national nutrition program for seniors, necessitating the National Privacy Commission’s engagement in the development of privacy measures in the IRR.

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Cebuano English Filipino