GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Seventeen centenarians here will receive cash incentives of PHP100,000 each on Thursday from the city government, as part of an incentive scheme mandated by a local ordinance.
Celso Mendoza, head of the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA), said Wednesday the recipients comprise the first batch of centenarians that will receive the incentive from the local government.
Mendoza said these were among the senior citizens from the city’s 26 barangays who were documented to have reached 100 years old and above. The centenarians were properly validated and assessed by OSCA and the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), he added.
Dubbed “1st Local Centenarian Payout,” Mendoza said the cash incentives will be released to the centenarians around 9 a.m. at the Model Senior Citizens Center located at the CSWDO compound.
City Ordinance No. 33-2016 provides for an incentive scheme that “recognizes and grants cash incentives, additional benefits, and privileges to centenarians” residing in the city.
Aside from the cash incentive, centenarians are entitled to free hospitalization at the city government-run Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital and maintenance medicines equivalent to PHP5,000 every month.
They will also receive a plaque of recognition, “letter of felicitation” and resolution from the Sangguniang Panglungsod acknowledging their “longevity.”
Mendoza said these incentives are on top of the PHP100,000 grant for centenarians from the national government.
He said incentives for the centenarians who have already died will be released to their families. (PNA)
