NSO stats consistent with Makati audit on ‘seniors’

This is in reference to the news story titled “Senate testimony: P370M lost in Makati seniors’ benefits” (Front Page, 8/21/15).

Lost and buried under the “ghost” allegations during the Aug. 20 hearing of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee is the significance of the nationwide National Statistics Office (NSO) Year 2010 Population and Housing Survey, the results of which were published in 2012. Our observations:

1. In Makati, with its population of 529,039, some 36,752 or 6.95 percent of the population are 60 years old and above or senior citizens. Compare the numbers with that of Cebu City, which has a population of 866,171, of which 54,143 (6.25 percent) are senior citizens. The percentages are at par.
2. In two Makati barangays (Kasilawan and Pinagkaisahan), both the subject of an “initial” audit by the Makati City Action Center (MCAC), the combined NSO population of 11,095, based on the NSO benchmark of 6.95 percent, translates to only 771 “lolos and lolas.” Compare this to the 2,033 “BLU Card” holders listed by the Makati Social Welfare Development (MSWD); this is a high 18.3 percent or nearly thrice the NSO benchmark.
3. At 1,109, the number of 2015-“MCAC-validated” senior citizens in both Kasilawan and Pinagkaisahan (versus MSWD’s 2,033) is deemed high at 10 percent of the 2010 population against NSO’s 6.95 percent. (The figures point to the same pattern even if the 2015 population figures are used).

The numbers of the 2015 MCAC audit appear to be backed up by the NSO data. The NSO is an agency of the Philippine Statistics Authority. The latter is governed by the National Economic and Development Authority, the country’s highest economic policymaking agency.

The difference between MSWD’s 68,000, and MCAC’s 36,720, which is some 31,000, is just too wide not to take notice of. Even adding 20,390 registered voters (Comelec website) without biometrics cannot narrow the gap to an acceptable level. Not even with the addition of the 19,322 citizens in the NSO age bracket 55-59 in 2010, who we presume will all be seniors at the end of 2015!

—MANUEL Q. BONDAD, Barangay Palanan, Makati City