MANILA, (PIA) — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the inaugural nationwide distribution of cash gifts to elderly Filipinos on Wednesday, February 26, marking the first anniversary of the expanded law providing financial support to senior citizens at multiple age milestones.
“In Bagong Pilipinas, we aim for our elderly to live with comfort and dignity,” Marcos said in Filipino during the ceremony at Malacañan Palace’s Heroes Hall, where beneficiaries ranging from 80 to 100 years old received their benefits.
The program, established under Republic Act 11982 or the Expanded Centenarians Act of 2024, provides P10,000 to Filipinos upon reaching ages 80, 85, 90, and 95, while maintaining the existing P100,000 benefit for centenarians.
Among the recipients were three 100-year-old women whom Marcos acknowledged as having been born during American occupation and surviving World War II. “Each line on their skin and every white hair is part of the thread that weaves our history,” he said.
Through the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC), the government expects to distribute more than PHP 2.9 billion to over 275,000 senior citizens nationwide this year.
The expanded program comes as the United Nations projects that Filipinos aged 60 and above will exceed 10 percent of the population between 2025 and 2030, classifying the Philippines as an aging society.
Marcos highlighted ongoing challenges facing the elderly, noting that 73 percent of Filipino seniors still rely on support from their children, and 55 percent of their health expenses are paid out-of-pocket.
The event was attended by several legislators who authored the law, including Senator Imee Marcos, Senator Bong Revilla, and Representatives Milagros Aquino-Magsaysay and Rodolfo Ordanes from senior citizens’ party-list groups.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, Officer-in-Charge of the NCSC, oversees the program’s implementation alongside other benefits for seniors, including transportation and medicine discounts, free healthcare in government facilities, and a monthly pension for indigent elderly.
“They deserve nothing less than our love, care, protection, respect, and honor,” Marcos said of the country’s senior citizens. (JCO/PIA-NCR)
(Photos: Bongbong Marcos Facebook)
