Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte (PPAB)

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte is asking local government unit (LGU) chiefs to help the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) in listing elderly Filipinos who are entitled to the cash gift provided for by a new law.

Signed last month by President Marcos, Republic Act (RA) No. 11982, or the Expanded Centenarians Act, is granting a P10,000 cash reward for all Filipinos once they reach the ages of 80, 85, 90 and 95.

“I am appealing to our LGU officials to go the extra mile in giving a hand to the NCSC and three more agencies in putting up the Elderly Data Management System or list of elderly Filipinos entitled to the cash bonanza,” Villafuerte said in a statement.

The National Unity Party (NUP) president is referring to the Departments of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which have all been directed to undertake the online registration of the intended beneficiaries.

He notes that accurate cataloging is also crucial in pursuing RA No. 11916, or the Act increasing the social pension of Indigent Senior Citizens, to determine “who among them are actually qualified to receive the monthly allowance for indigent seniors that has been increased beginning this year from P500 to P1,000”.

As of March 1, the number of NCSC registrants is at 4,419,153. This figure represents only a third of the 12.2-million Filipinos that PSA reported to have turned 60 years old by March 2020.

“Seldom do Filipinos reach the age of 100, so what better way for the national government and the Congress to show our country’s appreciation for the significant contributions of our grandparents and other seniors to society during their relatively more productive years than to give them a cash windfall not only when they become centenarians but even when they turn 80, 85, 90 and 95 years old,” said Villafuerte.

As stated in the newly passed law, the funding for the cash rewards for elderly beneficiaries shall come from the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).

However, since it is not included in the 2024 GAA, Villafuerte said that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) should consider tapping the government’s unprogrammed funds to start the cash distribution at the soonest.