CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte on Friday appealed to senators to prioritize a House-approved measure increasing the cash gift of Filipino centenarians — whether living in the Philippines or overseas — from the current P100,000 to P1 million when they reach the age of 101 years old.
Villafuerte was referring to House Bill (HB) 7535 even as he made the appeal head of this year’s celebration of the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly.
The bill, one of the measures passed on third and final reading by the House during the first regular session of the current Congress, also proposes a cash gift of P25,000 each to elderly Filipinos when they become 80 and 85 years old (octogenarians) and when they reach the age of 90 and 95 (nonagenarians).
“I am appealing to our senators to consider this measure increasing the cash gifts for our elderly Filipinos this Second Regular Session of the 19th Congress, as a way to support and honor them, when they become octogenarians, nonagenarians and centenarians,” said Villafuerte, a former governor and incumbent president of the National Unity Party (NUP). This year’s World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly is celebrated this weekend.
Pope Francis designated in 2021 the fourth Sunday of July as World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, in recognition of their important role in society.
Villafuerte at the same time welcomed the professed readiness and capability of the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) to implement this project if and when HB 7535 becomes a law.
The substitute bill seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) 10868, or the “Centenarians Act of 2016,” by increasing tenfold the cash gift to centenarians to P1 million, providing P25,000 apiece to octogenarians and nonagenarians, and mandating the NCSC to take charge of the project’s implementation, in place of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
RA 10868, which provided for a P100,000 cash gift to every centenarian, assigned to the DSWD this this task of distributing the money.
NCSC chairman Franklin Quijano earlier said his Office has been hiring more employees to improve its capacity to implement this proposed project.
Under HB 7535, “initial funding for the cash gifts shall still come from the DSWD, but the subsequent outlay for this project’s continued yearly implementation shall be included in the annual GAA (General Appropriations Act),” said Villafuerte, a lead author of HB 302 that was incorporated into this House-approved substitute bill.
Under HB 7535 and HB 302, each of these would-be beneficiaries shall also receive a letter of felicitation from the President of the Philippines congratulating him or her on their longevity.
The other authors of HB 302 are CamSur Reps. Miguel Luis Villafuerte and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata plus the Bicol Saro party-list.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development chalked up 662 Filipino centenarians. As of this week, the NCSC has thus far registered only 2,360,697 elderly Filipinos in its national database.
