P186M allotted for centenarians
CONGRESS has allocated a total of P186 million as a source of cash gifts for Filipino citizens who reach the age of 100 this year, a lawmaker said on Sunday.
“In the 2024 General Appropriations Law, the sum of P186 million has been earmarked for the tax-free cash gift of Filipino centenarians,” Quezon City Rep. Marvin D. Rillo said in a statement.
Under Republic Act No, 10868, the Centenarians Law, all natural-born Filipinos who reach the age of 100, whether living in the country or abroad, will receive a one-time cash gift of P100,000 with a letter from the President.
The P100,000 cash gift is separate from other rewards given by other sources, like local governments, to centenarians.
Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development showed that it has spent over P1.2 billion since 2017 to provide cash gifts for about 12,186 centenarians.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has yet to sign another measure seeking to give a one-time cash gift of P10,000 to Filipinos who reach the ages of 80, 85, 90, and 95.
The average life span of Filipinos is 71 years, or two years lower than that global average of 73 years, the World Bank said in a 2020 study. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz