Senior citizens' group upbeat on work bill

THE National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) has welcomed a proposal from Congress that will require senior citizens to be part of private companies.

Speaking to the program «Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon» on state-owned PTV-4 on Thursday, NCSC chairman Franklin Quijano said that the House bill by ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo was a welcome development.

However, Quijano said they still need to discuss with the government the insurance benefits, adding that he expects to see more private establishments to follow suit.

«Actually, we are looking at not just employment, the issue we are looking at is how can the senior citizens transfer their skills and their experiences and their wisdom to the next generation,» he said.

Development work, according to Quijano, can be used by the government. He also said senior citizens need not be college graduates and anyone can take part.

«We are actually trying to encourage senior citizens to be more productive by encouraging enterprises to support them and for enterprises to be creative,» Quijano said. «Of course, employment is part of it. We are happy because a lot of senior citizens are looking for work because they want to use their time and they possess the skill, the stability and the focus to work.» Quijano also discussed with senior citizen groups on what they can still do to contribute for the next generation.

He also wanted working senior citizens to be given the right to proper compensation.

«I hope that the management, businesses, and even government will realize how experienced a senior citizen is, based on his skills, based on the craftsmanship and the experience that he has,» Quijano said.

«I hope our senior citizens will be given the right to be properly compensated for his work,» he