Age no longer respected in the Philippines?
An interesting article in The Manila Times questions if age is still respected in traditionally family-respecting countries such as the Philippines.
Nobody cares for the elderly anymore is a special report that discusses how:
Poor, sick, undernourished, undermedicated are very many of the about 6 million Filipinos who are 60 years old and older. The majority of our senior citizens are among the unhappiest and poorest Filipinos, as demographic statistics of the government show.
Why is this so when everyone who describes the Philippines says it is a Christian country and, according to a high Welfare department official “one of the distinct traits which remains to be entrenched in Filipino families, is the high regard for older persons.”
How can the senior citizens of the Philippines be a pitiful lot, when there is an Expanded Senior Citizens Act?
It also questions “materialistic Western values, resulting in the disregard of elders.”.
Something to ponder.
I don’t know…. It’s hard to tell how accurate this article is. In my opinion it’s a bit exaggerated. But then again, I have not lived in the Philippines since 1994.
However, if I will base the observation on my family (in the Philippines and here in the US), our extended (very extended) family, my Filipino friends, and Filipino acquaintances , I would say the respect for elders is still very high.
And the materialistic western influence? If the article of “less respect for elders is true” then my opinion is yes, that could be a culprit. Not the sole reason, but could be a big part of it.