AGING IN THE PHILIPPINES
Aging in the Philippines
▪According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, there were 7.5 million senior citizens in the
country, accounting for 7.5 percent of the total population, as of its latest census in 2015.
▪Quoting a study conducted by the Coalition of Services of the Elderly, former senator Benigno
“Bam” Aquino IV said there are already eight million senior citizens in the country and only 32
percent or 2.5 million receive social pension of just P500 a month, while 38 percent or more
than three million do not receive any pension at all.
▪In 2018, the Department of Social Welfare and Development disclosed that P19.28 billion had
been allocated for about three million elderly. But RA 9994 specifies that seniors qualified to
receive the P500 monthly pension under the Social Pension Program of the DSWD are those
who are frail, sickly or with disability; without any pension from other government agencies; and
without a permanent source of income or source of financial assistance/compensation to
support their basic needs.
Top 5 Regions with Highest Number of Senior Citizen
▪Calabarzon -13.3% of the total population.
▪Central Luzon- 879,000 or 11.6% of the population.
▪Metro Manila - 850,000 or 11.3% of the population.
▪Western Visayas- 712,000+ or 9.4% of the population.
▪Central Visayas- 619+ or 8.2% of the population.
Top 5 Regions with Highest Number of Senior Citizen
▪Other regions that have a high distribution of senior citizens are Ilocos Region (6.5%) and Bicol
Region (6.1%).
Regions with Lowest Number of Senior Citizen
▪Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)
▪Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)
1.8 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively
▪Determining the geographic distribution of senior citizens helps in determining how accessible
they are to health and social services.
Age-Sex: Senior Citizen Population (2015)
▪In terms of sex
✔There are more female senior citizens than male.
