6 Manila centenarians get P100,000 each

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada awarded six centenarians with a cash gift of P100,000 each at the San Andres Sports Complex over the weekend.

Estrada said the cash incentives were given to the centenarians in recognition of their contributions to society.

The recipients were Leonila dela Fuente Acacio and Asuncion Angque Angeles, from District 4; Leandra de Paz Valles, from District 5, and Celedonia Eugenio, Bonifacio Santos and Araceli Garcia Manuel, from District 6.

Estrada also distributed 18 wheelchairs and medical assistance packages in city-owned hospitals and health care facilities.

He said senior citizens could avail themselves of free medicine for hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, cholesterol, cough, influenza and other diseases.

An elderly is entitled to P3,000 worth of medicine for one month as well as other services such as regular physical examination, cardiac stress test and endoscopy.

Dr. Benjamin Yson, head of the Manila Health Department, said the city government has allotted P70 million for the medicine of the senior citizens.

Hermie Salonga, assistant head of the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs, said there are 145,830 elderly in Manila.

Aside from free medicine, other perks for the senior citizens are P500 as birthday gift and P6,000 pension from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Salonga said 56 centenarians had received P100,000 each from the city government.