by Genevieve Balance-Kupang

 

Wishing all Older Persons (OP) a healthy and joyful UN International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP) this October 1, and a blissful Elderly Filipino Week (EFW) this October 1-7, 2022.

The Resilience and Contributions of Older Women and Older Persons: Resilience in Nation Building are this year’s UNIDOP and EFW themes, respectively.

Poet and author Martin Buxbaum conveyed that some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty, they merely move it from their faces into their hearts. Such were our observations when we, the Grupo Kalinangan Inc. (GKI) team (Katrina Bayaban, Mikhaela Cao, Dan Ignico Proton, and Genevieve Balance Kupang), in collaboration with the Milagros LGU went from one barangay after another to do our cultural mapping activities which began last August 23 to the present. Trained at documenting tangible and intangible cultural assets, we were privileged to engage with beautiful and warm-hearted Older Persons who contributed valuable information, data, and experiences.

These OP remind us that anything the younger generations get to enjoy nowadays reverberates to what they have dreamt, cultivated, and nurtured for their families and communities.

Older persons contribute to nation-building. In Milagros, they comprise 9.12% (5,250) of the total population of 57, 538. Their gift of presence is a blessing to the family as they bind the clan and serve as beacons of resilience, strength, and courage. They are the prayer warriors as they have more time and solitude according to Lina Almero Tingson, 82 y/o, a seasoned volunteer church worker from Pamangpangon. They pray to God Almighty to protect the family from harm and for the children and grandchildren to lead meaningful and righteous lives.

a)GKI cultural mapping facilitator Genevieve Kupang interviews Lina Almero Tingson, 82 y/o from Pamangpangon. b)Antonio Gratuito, 84 y/o, cutting firewood, Pamangpangon. c) Green Delavin, 60 y/o, assists in gathering sun-dried palay (rice grains),  Bacolod. Credits: a-Darcy Rances & Genevieve Kupang.

Some of these OP still serves the community as public servants, government employees, volunteer church workers, choir members, barangay health workers, entrepreneurs, farmers, fisher folks, weavers, healers, boat builders, vendors, and role models of resilience for the young.

The culture of profound respect and care for the elderly is a Filipino value that has been passed on to us by our forebears. The closely-knit family ties where the lolos and lolas (grandparents) are highly respected contribute to that culture of care. It is a prime value practiced among Milagrenios and Filipinos in general. In most families, there is always one among the children or clan who would be the OP’s caregiver. Otherwise, a hired caregiver does the services for the elder. The deep reverence for elders is likewise manifested when the elders are consulted for decision-making in family affairs, and through gestures like pagmamano, saying po and opo,  (gestures and expressions of respect by younger members of the family to their elders).

The Milagros senior citizens featured here are examples of those who continue to bind their families together and serve their families and the local community with joy and resilience.

a) Epifanio Bernal, 85 y/o, a former fisherman, Calumpang. b)  Bernardo Pelotin, 65 y/o, a retired educator and current Church organist, c) Talino Pones, 64 y/o, farmer, Matagbac. Credits: a & b – Katrina Bayaban and c, Genevieve Balance Kupang.

Filipinos put high cultural importance on respect for aging and the elderly. Young people are expected to respect the senior members of their families. Older individuals should be addressed politely, especially with appropriate titles of respect.

Clockwise: a) Concepcion Rebaya Oliva, 96 y/o, the oldest person in Capaculan; b) Lucresia Dehiza, 99 y/o, Magsalangi, the municipality’s oldest person. c) Edna Ojeda, 67 y/o, gowns rental owner, Calasuche; d) Rosa Cortez, 73 y/o, Bangad; e) Rufina Cedillo, 86 y/o, Capaculan. Credits: b-Katrina Baybayan & Genevieve Kupang.

We thank you lolos and lolas for your gift of presence. CW: a) Victor Ramos, 69 y/o, barangay kagawad, Calasuche; b) Elnora de la Cruz, 85 y/o, former Sangguniang Bayan member, Poblacion East. c) Gaspar Agustin, 70 y/o, fish vendor, Poblacion West. d) Catalina Dalida, 89 y/o, retired farmer, M.R. Espinosa. e) Magno Amangka, 86 y/o, farmer, Bonbon. f. Lodovico Cervantes, 71 y/o, Talisay, Calasuche. g) Felix Fuentes, chief tanod, Jamorawon; he transported the GKI team from Calasuche to Magsalangi and vice versa. h) Matagbac. Credits: Genevieve Kupang, Katrina Bayaban, Maria Lourdes Morado

A Happy 85th Birthday Celebration of Epifanio Bernal Sr. (seated). Epifanio Sr. turned 85 y/o last September 5, 2022, which the GKI Team attended after their cultural mapping activities in Barangay Calumpang. With him, are his beloved children, two of whom are also Senior Citizens: L-R: Epifanio Bernal Jr.; Jocelyn (Joy) B. Rosero, 62 y/o, former OIC municipal accountant and currently the department head of the General Services Office; she is also GKI’s foster mother while here in Milagros. Eudarlio, Alice, & Romeo Bernal, 60 y/o, a retired GSIS employee.  Credit: Hilda Angelie Camacho.

Let us continue to pray for the well-being of our elderly people; provide care, assistance, and comfort for them to lead a healthy life; spend time with them and exhibit heart listening demeanor as the older persons loved to be listened to. As Maria Lourdes Morado, a caregiver from M.R. Espinosa expressed during the interview “I take good care of mamay (mama) Catalina Dalida, 89 y/o, as she was the one who took care of me when I was little. Now, it is my turn to provide her with tender loving care.”

We also express our utmost gratitude to all the caregivers of older persons for their personal sacrifices, love, and contribution to the welfare of our elders.

#ElderlyFilipinoWeek

#UNIDOP

About the Author:

Genevieve Balance Kupang (Genie) is an anthropologist, consultant, researcher, and advisor to individuals and organizations engaged in working for good governance, genuine leadership, justice, integrity of creation, peace, the indigenous peoples, preservation of cultures, and societal transformation processes. She is a peace educator, author, interreligious dialogue practitioner, and resource person with a career in the academe and NGO.