MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Lito Lapid is pushing for free comprehensive health checkups for indigent senior citizens, seeking to help elderly Filipinos detect illnesses early without being burdened by the cost of medical examinations.
Under Senate Bill 2433, Lapid proposes that senior citizens aged 60 and above who are certified as indigent by their respective Local Social Welfare and Development Offices be provided with free executive or comprehensive health checkups.
The proposed program would cover consultations, laboratory tests, disease-risk screening and other necessary medical examinations.
The free checkups would be made available through Department of Health hospitals, local government hospitals, rural health units and accredited private health facilities.
Under the proposal, qualified indigent senior citizens would be entitled to a free executive checkup once every three years, with priority given to bedridden elderly persons and those living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
Lapid said the proposal recognizes the continuing financial difficulties faced by many elderly Filipinos, particularly those who cannot afford preventive healthcare.
As a senior citizen himself, Lapid said that while existing laws—including the Expanded Senior Citizens Act and the Universal Health Care Act—provide various forms of assistance and healthcare benefits, many indigent elderly Filipinos still struggle to shoulder the cost of medical examinations, even before treatment becomes necessary.
He emphasized the importance of preventive healthcare, noting that regular medical screening can help identify potential health problems before they become more serious and costly to treat.
The proposed measure seeks to strengthen access to preventive healthcare for vulnerable senior citizens and help ensure that poverty does not become a barrier to early detection and timely medical intervention.
During a plenary session on Wednesday, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero called for a broader review of the definition of indigency, noting that eligibility should not be limited to membership in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
He cited situations involving individuals who could be considered “medical or cancer indigents” because of the overwhelming cost of treatment, as well as “litigation indigents” who may need legal proceedings but cannot afford expenses that could reach hundreds of thousands of pesos.
"What does indigency really mean? Does it mean you’re a 4Ps beneficiary? The problem is that under our laws, indigency has only one definition. But for me, there are different levels of indigency," Escudero said.
"Similarly, if you file for a nullity of marriage, it’s not exactly easy to come up with P200,000 to P500,000 to cover the expenses, right? So, that person is litigation-indigent. If someone in your family gets sick, say with cancer, then your family is cancer-indigent," he added.