ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos orders swift resolution of delayed P10,000 senior citizen cash gifts

Marcos orders swift resolution of delayed P10,000 senior citizen cash gifts

Published Aug 26, 2026 01:53 pm

At A Glance

  • President Marcos has ordered the immediate resolution of complaints over delayed P10,000 cash gifts for senior citizens.
  • ARTA, NCSC, concerned local government units, and the complaining seniors will hold a clarificatory meeting on Aug. 28.
  • The Expanded Centenarians Act grants P10,000 to Filipinos who reach 80, 85, 90, or 95, while centenarians receive P100,000.
File photo
File photo

President Marcos has ordered the immediate resolution of complaints involving senior citizens who have yet to receive their P10,000 cash gift under the Expanded Centenarians Act, Malacañang said.

Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after eight Quezon City senior citizens filed anti-red tape complaints against the National Commission of  Senior Citizens (NCSC) on Monday, Aug. 24, over delays in releasing P10,000 cash gifts under the said law.

The group has also claimed that some senior citizens have died without receiving the cash gift, prompting them to seek government intervention.

In her press briefing on Wednesday, Aug. 26, Castro said the complaints filed with the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) had reached the President, prompting him to direct concerned agencies to act on the delayed benefits.

“Agaran itong solusyunan (The issue must be resolved immediately), she said.

Castro said the government would continue working with the concerned agencies to resolve the complaints, stressing that senior citizens should not have to wait unnecessarily long for benefits already provided for under the law.

“Hindi po kinakailangang patagalin ang mga tulong na dapat naman pong maibigay nang mas mabilis na paraan (The assistance that should be provided more quickly should not be unnecessarily delayed),” she said.

The ARTA has endorsed the complaints to the Committee on Anti-Red Tape of the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC), with a clarificatory meeting set on Aug. 28 involving ARTA, the NCSC, concerned local government units, and the complaining senior citizens.

Republic Act No. 11982, or the Expanded Centenarians Act, expanded the cash gift program for centenarians to include Filipinos who reach 80, 85, 90, and 95 years old.

Under the law, qualified senior citizens receive P10,000 at each of those milestone ages, while Filipinos who reach 100 are entitled to P100,000 and a letter of felicitation from the President.

The NCSC has also moved to speed up delivery by allowing qualified beneficiaries to receive their cash gifts through digital channels, including bank accounts and LandBank PISO accounts.

In February, the commission said it would pilot a bank-transfer system to make the distribution more efficient, secure, and convenient, after reporting that it had disbursed P2.8 billion in cash gifts in 2025, including delayed payments from the previous year.

During the signing of RA 11982 in February 2025, President Marcos said senior citizens should no longer face hardships at this stage of their lives and deserved the government's love, care, protection, respect, and honor.

“Batid ko pong marami pang kailangang gawin upang mas gawing siguro, ligtas, and maginhawa ang kalagayan ng ating mga nakakatanda (I know that we should do more to make sure that our elderly are secure, safe, and comfortable),” Marcos said.

The program was intended to provide earlier recognition and financial support to older Filipinos amid the country's aging population, with the United Nations projecting that Filipinos aged 60 and above would account for more than 10 percent of the population from 2025 to 2030.

Related Tags

senior citizens ARTA Claire Castro cash gift National Commission of Senior Citizens
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.