The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said over 9,000 centenarians have so far received their entitled P100,000 cash incentives.
DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista said a total of 9,205 centenarians have received their cash gift since 2016.
From 2016 to 2021, the DSWD has disbursed a total of P920.5 million in cash gifts.
Republic Act No. 10868 or the Centenarians Act of 2016 entitles all Filipinos who have reached 100 years old and above, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad to receive a cash gift amounting to P100,000 and a Letter of Felicitation signed by the President of the Philippines.
The DSWD had reminded the relatives of the centenarians to submit primary documents such as birth certificate and Philippine passport to the City or Municipal Social Welfare Office and the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) in their localities in order to avail of the benefits of the law.
“If both documents are unavailable, any one of the primary Identification Cards issued by OSCA, Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), and Social Security System (SSS); driver’s license; Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) license; and Commission on Elections (Comelec) Voter’s ID, is also accepted,” it said.
“Secondary documents of the centenarians may also be submitted in the absence of the primary documents or identifications,” it added.
The DSWD likewise expressed commitment to continue coordinating with local government units (LGUs) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to determine the estimated number of centenarians for 2022.
“The Department is undertaking measures to improve planning and budgeting for a more effective implementation of the law,” it said.