MANILA - A proposal to remove the mandatory retirement age of 65 is being pushed in the lower house of Congress.
Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes filed House Bill 3220 which aims to amend the labor code imposing retirement age of 65.
Under the bill, employees that reach 65 may have the option to continue working.
"Marami sa ating senior citizens ang maliit lang ang tinatanggap na monthly pension kaya napipilitan sila maghanap ng trabaho para madagdagan ang kanilang ikinabubuhay. Sa kakapusan ng ikabubuhay, napipilitan pa sila maghanap ng ibang trabaho kahit retired na," Ordanes told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.
Sixty-eight year old Gualterio Patitico, who works in a woodwork shop in Commonwealth, Quezon City, agrees with the measure.
He said senior citizens should be allowed to pursue jobs as they need it for their health.
"Kapag huminto sa trabaho, manghihina ang katawan ko. Kailangan ng exercise," he said.
National Commission of Senior Citizens chair Atty. Franklin Quijano applauded the measure.
However, he said the bill must ensure insurance and benefits even for the elderly in informal sector.
"Hindi lang clerical. Even the manual and menial, in fact ngayon, 45 percent of the senior citizens are still with the agricultural and fisheries sector," he said.
Quijano said the measure can be improved following models of employment and re-employment in first world countries.
"Pwede ka mag-retire at 40, pwede ka mag-apply na naman ng ibang trabaho, then mag-retire ka at 55, and mag-apply ka na naman. In itself, maipasa lang ang batas na 'yan, okay na," he said.
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