Mayor Honey Lacuna (left) attends to the needs of a senior citizen during one of her ‘Kalinga sa Maynila’ fora. Also in photo is barangay chairman Evelyn de Guzman. (JERRY S. TAN)
Mayor Honey Lacuna said the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to sign the amendments to the Centenarians Act (Republic Act 11982) is good news for the city of Manila, particularly its senior citizen population.
“Good news ‘yan, dahil ang ating mga minamahal na senior citizens dito sa Lungsod ng Maynila ay kabilang sa mga tatanggap ng P10,000 cash gift mula sa national government pagsapit nila sa edad na 80, 85, 90, at 95 batay sa tagubilin ng bagong batas,” she said.
Lacuna said that there are about 180,000 senior citizens in Manila based on records from the Office of Senior Citizens’ Affairs (OSCA) under Elinor Jacinto.
Relatedly, Lacuna said that as of 2023, there are 23 centenarians who were given by the local government their P100,000 cash gift as provided for by law.
The lady mayor personally delivered the said amount to the centenarians’ homes.
It was learned that the said cash gift is separate from the P100,000 being given by the national government to centenarians.
This means that in total, each senior resident in Manila who reaches 100 years of age is able to receive P200,000 cash gift.
Senior citizens in Manila also receive a monthly financial assistance of P500 each aside from birthday cakes, senior Christmas boxes and monthly allocation of their maintenance medicines.
Congressman Joel Chua (3rd district) meanwhile echoed Lacuna’s reaction to President Marcos, Jr.’s signing of the said amendments, as he additionally expressed hope for the inclusion in the updating of the OSCA database that of ensuring that the data or records of Manila will jive with those of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the National Commission of Senior Citizens and other concerned national government agencies.
Chua, who is also a member of the House Committee on Economic Affairs, said Manila residents are also bound to benefit from the Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act or Republic Act 11981 which was likewise signed recently by President Marcos.
“Dati nang sentro ng kalakalan at negosyo ang Maynila mula pa noong bago pa man dumating ang mga mananakop na Espanyol. Kapag naipatupad nang maayos ng Tatak Pinoy Act, inaasahang mas lalakas pa ang mga produkto at serbisyong Pinoy, lalo na iyong mga itinatapat sa gawa ng ibang bansa, tulad ng electronics, highly-skilled professionals at specialists, artista, manunulat at mga produktong sakahan at pangingisda,” Chua said.
