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| Senior claims her cash benefit (DSWD photo) |
Elderly Filipinos aged 80 and above who are abroad are among those entitled to claim cash gifts from the Philippine government, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas said in an advisory, and urged all those qualified to claim the benefit.
Under the Expanded Centenarians Act, all Filipinos can avail of a Php10,000 cash gift once they reach the ages of 80, 85, 90 and 95, while those who celebrate their 100th birthday will get P100,000 - wherever they may be.
The centenarians will also receive a Letter of Felicitation from the Philippine president.
The cash gift was originally limited to those reaching 100 years old, as provided by the Centenarians Act of 2016, also known as Republic Act (RA) 10868.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
The benefit was expanded to cover Filipino Octogenarians and Nonagenarians by RA 11982 which became law on February 26, 2024.
All the qualified seniors need to do is present documents that prove their age, and fill in the application form to be made available at the Consulate, according to implementing guidelines issued recently.
The application form -- complete with a 2x2 picture and copy of one’s passport or dual citizenship document -- will then be sent to the CFO for evaluation before the cash is transferred to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
Also accepted as supporting documents are the following:
• Authenticated birth certificate;
• Marriage Certificate of the centenarian issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) or Philippine Embassy;
• Birth Certificates of children borne by/of the centenarian;
• Affidavits executed by at least two (2) disinterested persons with personal knowledge of centenarian's actual age or date of birth;
• Old School or Employment records showing date of birth of centenarian;
• Baptismal and/or Confirmation records of centenarian;
• Overseas voting card or affidavit;
• Foreign driver's license; and
• Medical or health card.
Since 2019, CFO has endorsed awarding the P100,000 gift to 69 centenarians living mostly in the US, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. Majority of them originated from the Ilocos, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol and the National Capital Regions, CFO said.
