House allots P254 million for Pinoy centenarians

MANILA, Philippines — A total of P254 million has been earmarked in the national budget for the payment of cash gifts amounting to P100,000 each for Filipinos who will turn 100 years old this year.

“We in Congress are determined to sustain the annual funding required for the P100,000 cash gift of every Filipino who turns 100 years old,” Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. said yesterday.

“Since 2017, we’ve set aside an aggregate of over P1 billion including the sum allocated for this year to pay for the cash grant of more than 10,000 Filipino centenarians,” Campos, vice chair of the House appropriations committee, said.

The P254 million allotted for the centenarians‘ cash gift under the 2023 General Appropriations Act is 43 percent higher than last year’s P178 million, he said.

Under Republic Act 10868 or the Centenarians Law of 2016, every Filipino who turns 100 years old, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad, is entitled to receive the P100,000 tax-free gift and a congratulatory letter from the President.

The funds are included in the annual budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, which pays out the cash gift.

The gift is on top of all other rewards that centenarians may receive from their respective local government units or from other sources.

In Makati, for instance, the city government pays on its own a separate P100,000 one-time cash gift to every resident-centenarian.

A Makati resident who turns 100 years old receives a combined cash gift of P200,000 – P100,000 from the DSWD and P100,000 from the city government.

Since 2016, Makati has granted P100,000 cash gift each to 79 resident-centenarians.

Campos is the husband of Makati Mayor Abigail Binay, a former congresswoman before becoming mayor of the city that his family – through her father former vice president Jejomar Binay, mother Elenita and brother Junjun – headed for the past 37 years.

Nueva Vizcaya resident marks 110th birthday

Meanwhile, in Nueva Vizcaya, a woman believed to be the oldest living person in the province and possibly in the entire Cagayan Valley celebrated her 110th birthday in Dupax del Norte last week.

Mayor Timothy Joseph Cayton said Maria Atibew marked her 110th birthday on Dec. 27 at her home in Barangay Makabenga.

Cayton gifted Atibew with a cake, fruits, sack of rice, grocery items and cash.

“This is truly a December to remember for us, to be with the oldest living person in the province or maybe in the whole Cagayan Valley during the celebration of her 110th birthday,” Cayton told The STAR.

A living national treasure as described by her townmates, lola Maria survived the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed at least 50 million people worldwide, World War II as well as the current COVID pandemic.

One of Atibew’s grandchildren attributed her grandmother’s good health to having a positive attitude and happy life.

Native meat and vegetables are among Atibew’s  favorite food as well as fresh organic fruits, she said.

During the observance of Elderly Week in October 2022, the municipal government gave Atibew a new wheelchair, groceries, P30,000 cash and a plaque of recognition. – Sheila Crisostomo, Victor Martin