ABSTRACT
The chapter reviews the current state of older people in the Philippines drawing from various sources: census data, demographic surveys, published reports of government agencies and academic research on ageing and related topics. The Philippines has not yet reached the stage of great concern over demographic ageing and its consequences but it is expected to face these in the near and not so near future. While the state of research on elderly issues is in its infancy at present, in 1996 the first survey on a nationally representative sample of elderly (60+) and near elderly people (50-59) has been conducted and should provide more concrete data as a basis for planning. Selected findings of this survey will be cited in the succeeding discussion along with findings from the Philippine component of the 1984 ASEAN survey on Socioeconomic Consequences of the Ageing of the Population (SECAP) (see Chapter 2, p, 59).
