16 senior citizens aged 100 years old and above in Northern Mindanao recently received each of their Centenarian Gift of P100,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office X last October 16-20, 2017. An additional three Centenarians will also be paid with the same cash gift this month.

This effort was done in accordance with Republic Act 10868 also known as “Centenarians Act of 2016” which honors and grants additional benefits and privileges to Filipino centenarians.

Based on the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Memorandum Circular No. 4 Series of 2017, a Centenarian refers to all Filipinos, who have reached one hundred years old and above, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad.

The senior citizens who received the Centenarian gift was identified based on the existing database of the government such as record of Office of Senior Citizens Affairs-issued senior citizens ID, Social Pension beneficiaries, Listahanan (National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction), Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS), and other similar sources.

To verify the identification of a beneficiary of the Centenarian Gift, the local social welfare and development offices (LSWDOs) or the Head of the Office of Senior Citizens Association with the Civil Society Organizations conducts a verification process by requiring the beneficiary to present his/her birth certificate or Philippine passport. In case the said documents are not available, any one (1) of the following primary IDs may also be accepted:

• Senior Citizen’s Identification Card issued by the Head of the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) indicating the year of birth;
• Other Philippine-government identification cards such as the Land Transportation (LTO)-issued Driver’s License; social security cards like the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS), Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) License, Philippine Postal ID, Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Voter’s ID, etc. which shows Filipino citizenship and year of birth as a reference point for the Centenarian’s eligibility for the cash incentive.

Centenarians may visit their local social welfare and development office for such incentive, subject to verification and assessment by their City or Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

 

Written by Charmaine P. Tadlas, Regional Information Officer