Manila’s 13 new centenarians will get P100,000 each, Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada announced on Elderly Filipino Week.
On Wednesday, Estrada said the centenarians deserve appreciation for being the nation’s role models and living long, distinguished, healthy and disciplined lives.
The 13 new beneficiaries are Teodoro Ilagan from District 1, Aracelie Javalera, District 2; Alberto Hernandez, District 4; Felipe Mañalac, District 4; Ildefonsa Pardilla, District 4; Raquel Cabanilla, District 4; Casimira Lopez, District 5; Teresa Arriola, District 5; Juliana Aranas, District 5; and Josefa Asperilla, Eudocio Manaois, and Manuela Felicidad Mangilit, all from District 6.
“Living to a hundred years old, about three decades past the life expectancy, is extremely rare today,” he said, citing a report from the World Health Organization that shows life expectancy in the Philippines is 65.4 years for men and 72.5 years for women.
Estrada approved the release of P1.3 million from the Special Activities Fund for the cash gifts.
Proclamation 470 signed by then President Fidel Ramos in 1994 designated October 1-7 as Elderly Filipino Week, or Linggo ng Nakatatandang Filipino, to emphasize the important role that older persons play in nation building, as well as raise and address issues concerning the sector.
The 13 centenarians are the second batch of Manileños to be given the cash gift. In April, Estrada handed P100,000 checks each to 17 centenarians.
Lopez and Mangilit are the oldest of the batch at 102 years, according to Herminia Salonga, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs.
The P100,000 cash gift program is authorized by Ordinance 8483 approved by the mayor on March 17, 2016.
The ordinance authored by former third district councilor and now third district Rep. Yul Servo stipulates that every living centenarian shall, within 30 days from his or her 100th birthday, receive a cash gift of P100,000 from the city government.
Centenarians who reached the age of 100 prior to the passage of the ordinance shall also receive the cash gift. The centenarian-beneficiaries should be residents of Manila for at last one year.
With his motto “Bata’t matanda, alaga sa Maynila” (Young and old, cared for in Manila), Estrada said senior citizens occupy a special place in his heart because his mother, Doña Mary Ejercito, died on January 13, 2009 at the age of 103.
Every centenarian receives P10,000 during the yearly celebration of Araw ng Maynila on June 24, Salonga said.
“Estrada wants to honor our senior citizens by giving them a wide array of services and benefits that befit the sacrifices they have made for their families and society,” Salonga said.