The Senate has approved on second reading the bill that would expand the coverage of Republic Act No. 10868 or the Centenarians Act of 2016.

Sen. Imelda “Imee” Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, said the proposed amendments to the law will include Filipinos who reach the ages of 80 and 90 as recipients of cash gifts from the government.

Marcos sponsored Senate Bill No. 2028, or the Expanding the Coverage of the Centenarians Act, under Committee Report No. 61 on Tuesday, September 19.

Under the bill, recipients who reach the age of 80 years old will be granted P10,000, and those reaching 90-years old will be given P20,000 cash gift.

The bill maintains the granting of P100,000 to senior citizens who will reach the age of 100 and will be given a letter of felicitation from the President congratulating the celebrant for his or her longevity.

Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. thanked Marcos for pushing for the bill as he expressed hope for the measure’s immediate enactment into law.

Revilla, one of the authors of the measure, said the government should not make senior citizens wait for their cash benefits because they, undoubtedly, deserve them.

“As we commend Sen. Imee Marcos for her efforts in ensuring this measure is given ample attention, we do so with the prayer of hope that by next year, we have already turned this dream into reality,” Revilla said in a privilege speech.

In an interview, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian said they welcome the developments on the bill.

“Any type of assistance for the older segment of our population is a sign of how much we take care and value them,” Gatchalian told reporters in an interview at the sidelines of the Senate’s hearing on the DSWD’s budget on Wednesday, September 20.

“So we welcome (it) and sana sa mabilis na panahon ay mapondohan din (and I hope the program would be funded at the soonest time possible),” he said.

Gatchalian said he assumes that once the Expanded Centenarians Act is enacted into law, it would be easier for the government to implement it given that most senior citizens in the country already have an SC ID.

“All we have to do is track down their age. But I think, the incoming beneficiaries are much ‘younger’ so to speak than the ones who already turned 100 years old and lacked documentary requirements to prove their age,” he explained.

“So I think the new set of recipients can provide complete requirements, like birth certificate and IDs to show that they reached that age,” the former lawmaker said.