MANILA — Bulacan 3rd District Rep. Lorna Silverio has filed a bill to build a nursing home in each province of the Philippines.

House Bill 10193 is meant to benefit abandoned and neglected seniors as well as those who are homeless or are in residences that are uninhabitable to them. 

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The bill tasks local government units with building the nursing homes, which the Department of Social Welfare will maintain.

The nursing homes shall provide institutionalized residential care program as well as food, shelter and medical and social services.

Senior citizens made up 5.4 percent of the Philippine population in 2020. By 2030, they may constitute 7% of the population.

"Some of our senior citizens were neglected by their family members mainly attributed to financial constraints. " Silverio said in her explanatory note.

She said that Filipinos traditionally take care of elderly relatives themselves, but "due to limitations, some families are not able to do it."

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Silverio said that these situations are "where the government can step in to preserve the strong familial ties of Filipino families."

Pensioners received an average of P4,888 a month as of December 2022, the Social Security System said in a Facebook post in May 2023.

SSS said the minimum monthly retirement pension is P2,200 and can go to as much as P19,634.

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