DSWD chief says Enrile got P100K cash incentive

Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Thursday confirmed that Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile received the 100,000 cash gift as he celebrated his 100th birthday on February 14.

''Yes. As awarded yesterday,'' Gatchalian told GMA News Online when asked if Enrile already got his cash gift as mandated in the Centenarians Act of 2016.

GMA News Online asked Enrile's camp on the matter but it has yet to reply as of posting time.

The Philippine government's Centenarian Program represents respect for the elderly and acknowledges the invaluable contributions they have made to society over the decades.

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. hosted a lunch for Enrile's birthday on Tuesday as he honored and recognized the former senator's service to the country. He even called Enrile an icon, a pantheon of Philippine history.

Marcos said he is privileged to have worked with Enrile as he lauds him for "surviving a hundred years."

Enrile, for his part, thanked Marcos' parents, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and former First Lady Imelda Marcos, adding that his service to the two Marcos administrations have been the happiest moments of his life.

''I would like to thank your father and your mother for what they did to make me what I am today before you,'' Enrile said in a statement.

''The happiest moment of my life was when I served the first presidency of a Marcos President and the second time is now that I'm serving the son of that president, our President Bongbong Marcos,'' Enrile said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News