GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Four residents in the town of Malungon, Sarangani province, each received P100,000 for living beyond 100 years, officials said on June 21.
Malungon Mayor Maria Theresa Constantino led the tribute to the town’s centenarians, as she urged their respective families to take care of them.
The centenarians also received cakes from the local government to celebrate their longevity.
Constantino said the cash gift for the centenarians was intended only for the recipient’s food supplies and medical maintenance and not for distribution to relatives.
Sarao Lavena Banes, Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 12 (DSWD-12) focal person on social pension, said the release of P400,000 to the four centenarians was mandated under Republic Act (RA) 10868, or the Centenarians Act of 2016.
The act directs the awarding of P100,000 to Filipinos in the country and abroad who reached 100 years old, Banes said.
The town’s centenarians are: Tinglo Tali, 107 years old; Teodolfo Conception, 103; Maria Palomo, 103; and Rofu Alipoyo, 102, of Barangays JP Laurel, Datal Batong, Upper Biangan and Poblacion, respectively.
The implementing rules and regulations for RA 10868 took effect after it was jointly signed by Social Welfare Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo, Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial and former Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno on September 26, 2016.
The centenarians were accompanied by their close relatives and Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) during the awarding of cash gifts.
Yolando Pabualan, head of the local Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs, thanked the government for the cash gifts given to the centenarians and for the other assistance provided to senior citizens in the locality.
The distribution of cash gifts were witnessed by: Tita Campana, head of DSWD-12 social-pension unit, May Francis Aquino of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office; Ruth Arangote, acting municipal social-welfare officer; Vice Mayor Mariano Escalada Jr.; members of the Sangguniang Bayan; and, ABC members headed by their president, Nagpan Barangay Captain Edna Tuanzon.