Bill for Pinoy centenarians pushed

MANILA, Philippines - House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman has filed a bill seeking to honor and grant benefits to Filipino centenarians, as well as declare Sept. 25 as National Respect for Centenarians Day.

“While we laud the youth as the hope of the future, let us commend centenarians as the fulfillment of the present,” Lagman said.

House Bill 834 stipulates that on a centenarian’s birthday, whether in the country or abroad, he or she would be honored with a letter of felicitation signed by the president and a cash gift of P100,000.

The bill also provides that on National Respect for Centenarians Day, all Filipinos reaching their 100th year in the current fiscal year would be awarded a plaque of recognition and a cash incentive by their respective local government units on top of those given by the president.       

“A major indicator of the level of a nation’s human development is life expectancy,” Lagman said.

“We all aspire to live healthy, and consequently, long and productive lives. In a country where the average life expectancy is 71.6 years, living to be a centenarian, or three decades more than the average, is certainly a distinction worthy of emulation and public recognition.”

Senior citizens reaching their 100th birthday prior to the enactment and effectivity of the proposed law would be honored on the first proposed holiday celebration for centenarians or 120 days after the law becomes effective. The bill also proposes that all centenarians be entitled to 50 percent senior citizen discount and exemption from the value-added tax, on the sale of the goods and services from all establishments.

The National Statistics Office recorded 2,105 centenarians in the country as of 2000.