Section 1Sec./Art. 1

Declaration of Policies and Objectives. Pursuant to Article XV, Section 4 of the Constitution, it is the duty of the family to take care of its elderly members while the State may design programs of social security for them. In addition to his, Section 10 in the Declaration of Principles and State Policies provides: "The State shall provide social justice in all phases of national development." Further, Article XIII, Section 11 provides: "The State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development which shall endeavor to make essential goods, health and other social services available to all the people at affordable cost.

There shall be priority for the needs of the underprivileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women and children." Consonant with these constitutional principles the following are the declared policies of this Act:

a. to motivate and encourage the senior citizens to contribute to nation building;

b. to encourage their families and the communities they live with to reaffirm the valued Filipino tradition of caring for the senior citizens.

In accordance with those policies, this Act aims to:

1. establish mechanisms whereby the contribution of the senior citizens are maximized;

2. adopt measures whereby our senior citizens are assisted and appreciated by the community as a whole;

3. establish a program beneficial to the senior citizens, their families and the rest of the community that they serve.