BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Some 3,383 senior citizens from the different communities of the Cordillera who reached their milestone ages pursuant to the Expanded Centenarian Act will be receiving their prescribed cash benefits from the Cordillera office of the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC-CAR).
Lawyer Luz Laureta-Balisong, NCSC-CAR regional director, said that more than PhP36 million was earmarked by the Commission purposely for the cash benefits of those senior citizens that reached their milestone ages of 80, 85, 90, 95 and 100.
Of this number of senior citizens who reached their milestone ages, 2,212 are females while 1,171 are males.
Under the Expanded Centenarian Act, senior citizens who reached the milestone ages of 80, 85, 90 and 95 will be entitled to receive cash incentives of PhP10,000 while those who reached the age of 100 will be getting P100,000 from the government.
Based on the data obtained from the NCSC-CAR, 1,532 seniors composed of 985 females and 538 males reached the age of 80; 1008 elderly composed of 737 females and 371 males reached the age of 85; 558 senior composed of 360 females and 198 males reached the age of 90; 166 senior composed of 109 females and 57 males reached the age of 95 and 28 senior composed of 21 females and 7 males have reached the age of 100.
Last year, the NCSC-CAR disbursed more than PhP35 million in cash benefits of some 3,211 seniors who reached the milestone ages which was composed of 2,122 females and 1089 males.
The NCSC-CAR official advised the senior citizens or family members of seniors who are reach their milestone ages to file their applications for the release of their cash benefits six months prior to their birthdays.
However, she clarified that for those who forgot that they have reached their milestone ages, they can still apply for the release of their benefits before they celebrate their birthdays for the coming year to avoid the forfeiture of the said benefits granted to them by law.
Balisong also reminded senior citizens who have not yet registered with the NCSC to fill out the registration form in the website, www.ncsc.gov.ph, for the Commission to be able to establish a clear database of senior citizens in the country.
