Anti-Elderly Abuse Bill Seeks to Prevent Future ‘Cita Rodriguez’ Cases

Anti-Elderly Abuse Bill Seeks to Prevent Future ‘Cita Rodriguez’ Cases 

A new measure aimed at protecting senior citizens from abuse, neglect, and exploitation has 

been filed in the House of Representatives, inspired by the harrowing experience of a once 

prominent Pampanga businesswoman who fell victim to elder abuse. 

Laguna 1st District Representative Ann Matibag formally filed the bill today in the 20th 

Congress, seeking to address what she called a “growing and urgent” problem affecting 

thousands of Filipino elders. 

The proposed legislation intends to standardize legal remedies, strengthen prevention and 

reporting mechanisms, and institutionalize support services for the elderly. At present, elder 

abuse cases are prosecuted under general statutes like the Revised Penal Code, or, in some 

instances involving elder women, under the Anti-Violence Againstp Women and Children Act (RA 

9262). 

But these, Matibag said, fall short of addressing the unique vulnerabilities faced by aging 

Filipinos. “Today, elder abuse cases are squeezed into existing laws –often filed under the 

Revised Penal Code, or sometimes under RA 9262.But these laws, while important, do not 

account for the unique vulnerabilities of the elderly.” 

Matibag cited the case of Cita N. Rodriguez, an 89-year-old accountant and philanthropist from 

Pampanga, whose story recently went viral online and in news reports. According to multiple 

accounts, Rodriguez’s own niece allegedly took advantage of the senior’s declining mental 

faculties to siphon her finances and misappropriate her properties – before being isolated and 

made to live on a pauper’s allowance. 

“Tita Cita’s case was not an isolated one,” Matibag warned. “It is part of a larger, more 

disturbing pattern of elder abuse, one that our current legal system is ill-equipped to confront.” 

She said the absence of dedicated protocols has led to “doctrinal gaps, inconsistent 

prosecution, and insufficient prevention and support services.” 

The bill is anchored on the 1987 Constitution’s provisions recognizing the dignity of every 

human person, guaranteeing full respect for human rights, and mandating special protection for 

vulnerable sectors, including the elderly. It also affirms the State’s role in supplementing the 

family’s duty to care for its aging members, particularly when those very families become the 

source of harm. 

Matibag appealed for bipartisan support in fast-tracking the measure, as well as the backing of 

the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), senior citizen federations, and various elder rights 

advocates.“But I also ask each one of you here to stand with me. Let this bill not just be my measure, but  our collective commitment.” 

Matibag urges her fellow lawmakers to move beyond cultural gestures of respect and translate 

reverence into real protection, saying “let us show the nation that our love for our elders does 

not end with mano po. . . Let us give them not just the honor they are due, but the protection 

they so deeply deserve.” 

The bill is expected to be referred to the appropriate House committee in the coming weeks.###

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