Marcos Jr.: Release cash gift for seniors President

MANILA, Philippines — Marcos has ordered the faster release of the P10,000 cash gift to qualified senior citizens who are beneficiaries under the Expanded Centenarians Act.

Palace press officer Claire Castro made the statement yesterday after eight senior citizens in Quezon City filed anti-red tape cases against the National Commission for Senior Citizens (NCSC) on Aug. 24 over delays in the release of the cash incentives they are entitled to receive for reaching milestone ages of 80, 85, 90 and 95.

“We need to provide our elderly their entitled benefits, and these must be delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Castro said.

In the complaints filed with the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), the senior citizens, aged 80 to 85 and residents of Barangay Marilag, aired concerns over the delays, saying that they do not want to suffer the same fate as some of their friends who died without receiving their cash gifts.

“So the President ordered that this be resolved immediately,” Castro said.

She said the ARTA endorsed the complaint to the NCSC’s Committee on Anti-Red Tape on Aug. 25.

A clarificatory meeting is scheduled tomorrow to be attended by ARTA, NCSC, concerned local government units and the senior citizens who filed the complaint.

Republic Act 11982, the Expanded Centenarians Act, provides that all Filipinos, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad, upon reaching the age of 100 shall receive a cash gift of P100,000.

All Filipinos upon reaching the ages of 80, 85, 90 and 95 will receive a cash gift of P10,000.