QUEZON City Rep. Marvin Rillo said the national government is set to spend an initial P3 billion for the P10,000 cash gift of elderly Filipinos reaching the milestone ages of 80, 85, 90, and 95 years old.
“Based on the 2025 National Expenditure Program, the government intends to spend up to P3 billion for the initial implementation of the Expanded Centenarians Law,” Rillo, a member of the House committee on appropriations, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Of the P3 billion, our rough calculation is that some P173 million will be used to pay for the P100,000 cash gift of 1,730 new centenarians, and the rest will be available to pay for the P10,000 grant of those turning 80, 85, 90, and 95 years old,” Rillo said.
“We would encourage all families to register their elderly members online with the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC), which runs the Elderly Data Management System that will help facilitate payments of the P10,000 cash gift,” Rillo said.
Rillo said the NCSC is currently working with local government units, the Philippine Statistics Authority, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, with respect to the online registration process.
Last February, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law the Expanded Centenarians Law, or Republic Act No. 11982, which grants a P10,000 cash gift every five years to octogenarians and nonagenarians upon reaching the milestone ages.
The new law provides that all Filipinos, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad, upon reaching the ages of 80, 85, 90, and 95, will each receive a cash gift of P10,000.
The grantees will be eligible to receive the cash gift within one year from reaching the milestone ages.
The original Centenarian Law had only previously covered Filipinos who turned 100 years old.
Centenarians receive P100,000 upon reaching 100, along with a congratulatory letter from the President.
The average life expectancy in the Philippines is around 72 years, according to the United Nations.
