The city government of Makati on Monday awarded P100,000 cash gift and a plaque of recognition to the city’s 26th centenarian resident in a simple ceremony held at city hall.
Mayor Abby Binay said Maria Silva Carpio, 100 years old from Barangay Bangkal, was found to be qualified for the award through the joint efforts of the Makati Social Welfare Department and Office of Senior Citizens Affairs. Her son Gonzalo Carpio received the award on her behalf.
“It is such an honor to give due respect and recognition to the people who have stood as pillars of society,” Binay said.
Carpio was born in Tanauan, Batangas on Oct. 22, 1915 and was married to the late Silvestre Carpio. The couple was blessed with four children who are now professionals.
She helped her husband put up and manage their textile business during her younger years. It has become a family business now being managed by her children. She has been bedridden for some time now.
Makati is the first local government to extend cash gifts to centenarians. The first batch of centenarians awarded in January 2013, during the administration of Binay’s brother former mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay, consisted of nine with only one male among them. Four were honored posthumously.
In 2014, there were also nine recipients of the award. During the same year, the awarding has been done quarterly upon the recommendation of MSWD to increase the chances of recipients being able to attend the ceremony themselves.
Last year, there were four recipients of the award, all female. For the first quarter of 2016, three lady centenarians received the cash gift.
Carpio and the previous honorees were able to meet the criteria set by MSWD, the lead implementer of the BLU Card Program: 1) must be a Filipino citizen; 2) must be a bonafide resident of Makati; 3) must have reached 100 years old between January to December of the current year; and 4) must be a BLU Card and White Card holder for at least five years.