Senior Citizens Party-list Rep. Rodolfo "Ompong" Ordanes claims that elderly Filipinos feel forgotten and neglected by President Marcos after the latter "snubbed" the sector in his latter's State of the Nation Address (SONA).

"Kami po ba ay dahon ng anahaw? (Are we just anahaw leaves?)" Ordanes asked the President.

The comparison to the anahaw leaf is both old-fashioned and sad: Anahaw was used as protection from rain but was later set aside when umbrellas became common.

Ordanes went on to reiterate the call for attention to two specific bills for the elderly population, which Marcos failed to do in his SONA last July 27.

"Kami ay tila nakalimutan ng ating Pangulo. Wala kaming nakitang pag-asang mabibigyan ng sapat na pansin ang mga senior citizen. Wala kahit isang salita tungkol sa aming mga karapatan at kapakanan," lamented Ordanes.

(We seem forgotten by our President. We saw no hope that seniors would be given proper attention. Not a single word about our rights and welfare.)

Ordanes had earlier hoped for Marcos' explicit endorsement in his SONA for the passage of the Universal Social Pension and the Geriatric Health Act.

He lamented that senior citizens don't even have much time left anymore to enjoy the benefits of such measures, should they become law.

"Kami po ay malapit na sa finish line, marami ang nasa departure area na ng buhay at malapit nang magpantay ang mga paa," says the solon, as if to tell Malacañang that their time is running out.

(We are close to the finish line, many are already in the departure area of life and nearing the end.)

Ordanes clarified that seniors were not resentful, as they continued to hope for the passage of the two bills.

"Sana po ay dumating ang araw na wala ng senior citizen ang makadama na sila ay parang anahaw na dating pinakinabangan ngunit kalaunan ay nakalimutan. Hangad lamang namin ang isang gobyerno na tunay na nag-aaruga at nagbibigay ng dignidad sa bawat Pilipinong matanda," he said.

(We hope the day comes when no senior citizen feels like the anahaw—once useful but later forgotten. We only wish for a government that truly cares and gives dignity to every elderly Filipino.)