Back in those days, only a few people and organizations understood and saw the changes that a demographic shift may bring to the Philippine society. Although we have high regards to the older persons, we have structural problems that need to be addressed so Filipinos may get old with dignity and security. Some of the main issues that COSE has aimed to address are invisibility, exclusion, and poverty of the older persons.
Fast-forward today, COSE has grown into an NGO working closely with older persons and different stakeholders to ensure that we are set for the demographic shift in which older population will become larger than the younger population. It has set the bricks to a journey towards a dignified aging so others can walk on it and continue what COSE has started. After 30 years, the organization has tapped, formed, and strengthened around 850 older person organizations, 65 federations of older persons, and the of Older Persons Associations of the Philippines (COPAP) in select provinces in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
How COSE started
The non-government organization working with older persons in the Philippines was started when a representative of HelpAge International named Graeme Jackson communicated with Denis Murphy of Urban Poor Associates (UPA) – his only contact in the Philippines to conduct a consultation on the situations and plight of Filipino older persons. The consultation was attended by several organizations and individuals like representatives of DSWD, the Daughters of Charity, Brothers of Saint John, the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI), and the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
It was then how the organization’s name “Coalition of Services for the Elderly” was derived from. It was changed later on to “Coalition of Services of the Elderly” to highlight the main contributions and participation of the older persons in the activities of COSE.
Edward Gerlock has taken on the responsibilities of leading and guiding COSE after his dear friend Denis Murphy requested him to maneuver this newly-founded non-government organization for the older person sector. He then became COSE’s first Executive Director. He continues to guide and support COSE and all other older person organizations up to the present time.
COSE’s impact on the communities
From then on, COSE has contributed significant inputs and changes in communities, policies, academes, and project implementations.
We have contributed to bolstering the morale, confidence, and motivation of older persons in the project areas, apart from reinforcing their level of social, economic and political awareness. Our works have also contributed to the positive view on aging and on older persons, which boosted the “community confidence” accorded to older persons in COSE project areas.
Older person organizations in those communities where COSE implemented projects have become more operational and functional. They already have made clear Vision-Mission-Goals (VMG) and can perform their own Organizational Assessment Test.
COSE’s capacity-building activities have fostered collaborative, experiential, and action learning; self-reflection; and facilitated problem-solving and decision-making in OPOs covered by COSE projects. Through these activities, OPOs are now offering various programs and services to their members through their own Community-Based Programs of the Elderly (CBPE)—a testament to their self- reliance and resourcefulness. In turn, such OPO-level initiatives have led to improvements in social consciousness, social connectedness, social cohesion, and resulted in an increase in the level of social engagement, sense of community and sense of belongingness among older persons. Furthermore, there has been an appreciable increase in the “political capital” of older persons and their organizations in COSE project areas.
Sailing beyond the Sunset
We hope that through the programs and projects of COSE, we were able to highlight the inherent strength, wisdom, and autonomy of older persons as they meaningfully contribute to community development and uplift—through their own programs, services, and advocacies—their less fortunate fellows from the indignity of squalor and destitution. Indeed, the older persons have proven that they can be effective and tireless agents of change.
We will continue our work towards dignified aging in the coming years until we can say that one can grow old with dignity and security in the Philippines. We hope to meet and create meaningful and lasting partnerships with individuals, groups, organizations, and companies who believe in the same mission for and with the older person sector.
Emily Beridico, COSE Executive Director, reminded, “And for the older persons and about to be older persons, let us claim the words of the legendary American Maggie Kuhn as their own: We are not ‘senior citizens’ or ‘golden-agers.’ We are the elders, the experienced ones; we are maturing, growing adults responsible for the survival of our society. We are not wrinkled babies, succumbing to trivial, purposeless waste of our years and our time. We are a new breed of old people.”
More about COSE’s impact: Sailing Beyond the Sunset: Impact Study on COSE’s Journey Towards Dignified Aging (Summary)