Deceased centenarian's family to get P100K cash gift —DSWD exec

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will still grant the P100,000 cash gift, as mandated in the Centenarians Act of 2016, to the family of Lola Eugenia.

In a Dobol B TV interview, DSWD Assistant Secretary Glenda Relova said the family of Lola Eugenia -- the centenarian who had  kept waiting for her cash gift until she passed away on September 12 -- can claim the grant after submitting the required documents.

“As of last Monday, hindi pa naibibigay. However, makukuha pa rin ng kanyang mga naiwang kamag-anak. Sad to say nga lang na 'di na napakinabangan ni lola,” she said.

(As of last Monday, we haven’t provided her cash gift yet. However, her family can still receive the money. Sad to say, she cannot benefit from it anymore.)

Relova said the immediate family of Lola Eugenia must submit proof that they are the immediate family, death certificate of the deceased centenarian, copy of the birth certificate and ID of the nearest surviving relative, and special power of attorney which states that the claimant was authorized to receive the P100,000 grant.

The claimant will also need to sign a warranty and release from liability with the DSWD.

According to Relova, there are instances that the DSWD misses the grant of P100,000 cash gift to the centenarians as they base it on the list given by the local government units and the data from department’s “listahanan” or the list of families considered as poorest of the poor.

“May dumadating na pagkakataon na underestimated ang sina-submit sa amin. Kapag nakapagbigay na kami ng number ng allocated beneficiaries kailangan namin humingi ng augmentation sa [Department of Budget and Management] para mapondohan para sa excess that were allocated by the department,” she said.

(There are times when the list submitted to us was underestimated. Once we have finalized the number of allocated beneficiaries, we need to request for augmentation from the DBM for the funding of the excess number which was allocated by the department.)

In Lola Eugenia's case, Relova said, she was not part of the 952 centenarians that are listed to receive the P100,000 cash gift.

“‘Di pa po siya nakasama doon. Ang aming target ay 985 noong 2020, ang na-serve is 985. Si Lola Eugenia ay karagdagan sa target,” Relova said.

(She was not included in the list. Our target in 2020 was 985 and we have served all of it. Lola Eugenia belongs to the excess beneficiaries.)

Although Lola Eugenia’s family claimed that they had submitted the documents for the grant, Relova said the DSWD needs to validate the compliance of the applicant.

“Kinakailangan na beyond reasonable doubt na sila ay 100 taon” (We need to prove that they are 100 years old beyond reasonable doubt), she said.

To prove this, the applicants need to provide birth certificate or other government IDs such as passport, senior citizen ID, voter’s ID or baptismal, marriage and medical records.

She said the DSWD field offices, as well as the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC), can assist the application for the centenarians’ benefit.

On the other hand, Relova said they are coordinating with the NCSC to process the benefits for Lola Francisca Susano, the Filipina from Negros Occidental who is considered to be the world's oldest living person at 124 years old.

“Nakipag-coordinate na kami sa National Senior Citizens Commission para maayos ang papeles ni lola,” she said.

(We are coordinating with the National Senior Citizens Commission to process Lola Susano's papers.) —LBG/KG, GMA News