JUNE 11, 2016

NR # 4228B

Proposed Centenarians Act awaits PNoy signature

A bill seeking to honor Filipino centenarians by granting them additional benefits
and privileges, and declaring September 25th of every year as National Day of Respect
for Centenarians is now awaiting President Aquinos approval and signature for
enactment into law.
The proposed Centenarians Act has been referred to the President for approval
and signature after the House of Representatives last May 23, 2016 adopted Senate Bill
449 as an amendment to House Bill 5780.
The House approved its version of the Centenarians Act embodied in HB 5780 on
third and final reading on June 9, 2015 while the Senate passed SB 449 on final reading on
May 23, 2016.
The bill recognizes the centenarians rare gift of longevity and their contributions to
the countrys communities.
The measure provides that Filipinos who reach the age of 100 years old, whether
residing in the Philippines or abroad, shall be honored with a Letter of Felicitation from
the President of the Philippines congratulating the celebrant for his or her longevity.
In addition, the celebrant shall also be given a Centenarian Gift in the amount of
P100,000.
Another salient feature of the bill is the declaration of September 25 of every year
as the National Respect for Centenarians Day.
It provides that as part of the annual Family Week celebration from September 19 to
28, the 25th of September is hereby declared as National Respect for Centenarians Day
during which, all Filipinos who have turned centenarian in the current fiscal year shall be
awarded a plaque of recognition and a cash incentive by their respective city or municipal
governments in appropriate ceremonies.
The LGU concerned shall determine the amount of the cash incentive.
All living centenarians who reached the age of 100 years old prior to the effectivity
of the Act shall be honored on the celebration of the first National Respect for
Centenarians Day or 120 days after the effectivity of the Act, whichever comes earlier, in
appropriate ceremonies which shall be observed as a national event.

They shall each be awarded a plaque of recognition and the Centenarian Gift earlier
referred to in the bill. In the same event, posthumous plaques of recognition in honor of
deceased centenarians shall-be presented to the nearest surviving relative of each
centenarian.
During the initial year of the implementation of the Act, the requisite funds shall be
sourced from the available funds of the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) and subsequently the amount necessary to implement the provisions of the Act
shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Within 30 days from the effectivity of the Act, the Secretaries of the DSWD,
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Health
(DOH), and the Executive Director of the Commission of Filipinos Overseas (CFO), shall
promulgate the necessary guidelines for and shall take the lead in the effective
implementation of this Act.
Senate Bill 449, authored by Senator Ralph Recto, was endorsed for plenary
approval by the Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development chaired by
Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Committee on Ways and Means chaired by Sen.
Juan Edgardo Sonny Angara and Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Loren
Legarda.
Meanwhile, House Bill 5780 is authored by Reps. Edcel Grex Lagman, Rogelio
Espina, Marcelino Teodoro, Christopher Co, Rodel Batocabe, Gus Tambunting, Luis
Ferrer IV, Anthony G. del Rosario, Joaquin Chipeco, Jr., Enrico Echiverri, Isidro Ungab,
Celso Lobregat, JC Rahman Nava, Pryde Henry Teves, Romeo Acop, Cheryl DelosoMontalla, Evelina Ecsudero, Gwendolyn Garcia, Estrellita Suansing, Olga Kho, Edgardo
Masongsong, Pablo Nava III, Rosenda Ann Ocampo, Leah Paquiz, Mariano Piamonte, Jr.,
Angelina Tan, Susan Yap, Randolph Ting and Antonio Tinio. (30) rbb