Congress has boosted to P254 million the sum meant to pay for the P100,000 one-time cash gift of Filipino centenarians, Makati City Representative Luis Campos Jr. said.
“We in Congress are absolutely determined to sustain the annual funding required for the P100,000 cash gift of every Filipino who turns 100 years old,” Campos, House appropriations committee vice chairperson, said.
“Since 2017, we’ve set aside an aggregate of over P1 billion to pay for the cash grant of more than 10,000 Filipino centenarians.”
“In fact, since 2017, we’ve set aside an aggregate of over P1 billion, including the sum allocated for this year, to pay for the cash grant of more than 10,000 Filipino centenarians,” the veteran legislator added.
The seasoned lawmaker explained that the P254 million earmarked for the Centenarian’s Gift in the 2023 General Appropriations Act is 43 percent higher than last year’s P178 million.
Republic Act No. 10868 provides that every Filipino who reaches 100 years old is entitled to receive the P100,000 tax-free gift plus a congratulatory letter from the President.
Under the Centenarians Law of 2016, or Republic Act No. 10868, every Filipino who reaches 100 years old, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad, is entitled to receive the P100,000 tax-free gift plus a congratulatory letter from the President.
Funding is lodged in the annual budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which pays out the gift.
The gift is on top of all other rewards that centenarians may receive from their respective local governments or from other sources.
In Makati City, for instance, the local government pays on its own a separate P100,000 one-time cash gift to every resident centenarian.
Thus, a Makati resident who reaches 100 years old receives a combined cash gift of P200,000 – P100,000 from the DSWD and P100,000 from the city government.
Since 2016, Makati has so far rewarded 79 resident centenarians with P100,000 each.
