BAGUIO CITY—The Cordillera office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development said 47 residents in the region have reached one hundred years old and are qualified to receive the P100,000 cash incentive from the government.
Melissa Catimo, DSWD-CAR social pension coordinator, said the agency is just awaiting the downloading of the funds from the budget department prior to the awarding of the incentives to the qualified centenarians pursuant to the provisions of the Centennarian Act signed into law last June.
Baguio City had the highest number of recorded centenarians with 17 followed by Mountain Province with 9, Abra with 8, Apayao and Ifugao with 5 each and Kalinga with 3.
For Benguet, Catimo explained, the agency has yet to receive the official data to be transmitted by the concerned offices considering the earlier data submitted has been subjected to validation.
The DSWD-CAR official revealed the oldest living Cordilleran based on their available records is 112 years old.
Aside from the P100,000 one-time cash incentive, she added, the qualified centenarians will also be receiving plaques of recognition and other gifts from the government but those who will not be able to meet the prescribed deadline will be given the plaque of recognition minus the cash component.
Catimo appealed to the families of other centenarians who might have been missed out in their evaluation and validation process to submit to the nearest local social welfare and development office pertinent documents showing that their family member is already a centenarian so that they could be included in their list and that they will be entitled to the benefits granted to them by law.
Based on their interviews with the centenarians, they were able to find out that the secret to long life is simple living wherein they eat vegetables and fruits coupled with exercise among others, she added.
Catimo said the agency will be holding a program for handing to the qualified centenarians the cash incentives and the plaques of recognition once the funds will be made available for distribution.
Under the provisions of the Centenarian Act, Filipino citizens who will be able to reach 100 years old will be entitled to a P100,000 one-time cash incentive and plaques of recognition from the government in recognition of the milestone that they were able to achieve in their lives.
The DSWD-CAR is in charge of providing the financial assistance earmarked by the government for the grant of social pension and caring for members of those in the marginalized sector, particularly the elderly and persons with disabilities.
