The creation of the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) in the Philippines paved the way to cater the needs and concerns of the people ageing from sixty (60) years and above. It was established consistent with the provision of Republic Act No. 7432, known as “An Act to Maximize the Contribution of Senior Citizens to Nation Building, Grant Benefits and Special Privileges and For Other Purposes”. The need of creating this office was conceived and developed to put in place the provisions of laws pertaining to the protection of innate rights of the elderly.

In 2000, there were 4.6 million senior citizens (60 years or older), representing about 6% of the total population. In two decades, this has grown to 9.4 million older people or about 8.6% of the total population. The World Population Prospects 2019 estimates that by 2050, older people will make up around 16.5% of the total population. This growth has spurred efforts to improve the senior citizens’ quality of life by offering smarter and more efficient IT-based government services in different domains such as healthcare and transportation.

Middle-aged and older adults are embracing technology and are more digitally connected than ever before. With approximately 71 million Filipinos now connected via mobile, these devices are a part of their daily lives to stay informed, connect to friends and family, shop, make travel plans, and make reservations for travel and transportation.