DSWD Guarantees Centenarian Cash Gift

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) guarantees the house-to-house delivery of the centenarian cash gift to every Filipino citizen of 100 years of age and above.

Stated under Republic Act no. 10868 “An Act Honoring and Granting Additional Benefits to Filipino Centenarians and for other purposes” or the “Centenarians Act of 2016,” centenarians will be given the cash gift of P100,000.

Mainly due to the COVID-19 crisis coupled with the health and physical limitations of centenarians, DSWD assured that they will deliver the cash gift right to their doors.

Centenarians who wish to avail must have their relatives prepare the primary documents needed such as a birth certificate, Philippine passports, and submit them to the city or municipal social welfare office and the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) in their area.

Any of the primary identification cards below will also be accepted issued by OSCA:

• Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)
• Social Security System (SSS)
• Driver’s license
• Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) license
• Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Voter’s ID.

For secondary documents, relatives may also submit marriage certificate from the Philippine Statistics Office (PSA) or the Local Civil Registrar’s Office (LCRO), birth certificates of the centenarian’s children, birth certificates of the children of the centenarian issued by the PSA or the LCRO; affidavits from two disinterested persons, aged 80 years who have personal knowledge of the centenarian’s age and birthdate, school and employment records showing the age of the centenarian, baptismal or confirmation records issued by churches and religious organizations, medical or dental examinations by government or private doctors and dentists, certifications from the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and other similar organizations.

For centenarians who have been left by their families and relatives and is currently under a social welfare institution can also claim their cash gift. Documents submitted must be endorsed to the respective DSWD field offices for approval.

However, for centenarians who have died but was still alive when the law took effect on July 15, 2016, relatives can still claim the cash gift by submitting a birth certificate, baptismal or confirmation records, marriage certificate, that will prove the deceased centenarians’ age eligibility at the time RA 10868 took effect.

Meanwhile, DSWD released P560,900,000 cash gifts from 2016-2019 catering 5,609 centenarians nationwide. For this year, 289 centenarians already received their cash gifts as of June 15. 952 centenarians are expected to benefit the cash gift this year. (MLC)