13 centenarians get each on Valentine’s Day

BULUAN, Maguindanao – Thirteen centenarian-residents in this province received R100,000 in symbolic rites, dubbed Valentine’s Day for Bangsamoro ultra senior citizens, here on Tuesday.

Local officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Maguindanao has 17 validated centenarians with ages ranging from 100 to 104 years old under the government’s social pension program.

But according to Provincial Social Welfare Officer Emma Ali, said four of them passed away a few months before the DSWD central office could download the R1.7-million social pension program for fund century-old beneficiaries to this province, through the DWSD regional office in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

She said DWSD-ARMM Secretary Laisa Alamia opted for the distribution of pensions to the 13 living centenarians in Maguidanao on Thursday in time for the Valentine’s Day, which coincided with the end of the province’s weeklong 3rd Inaul Festival here.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu handed the pension to each of the recipient-centenarians, who were assisted by relatives, at a local restaurant here.

Among the recipients were Aisa Peenkil Endaila, Engkal Akmad Guiamadel, Dimalen Among Salik, Usman Ebus Ebrahim, Aisa Sampan Omal, Saiba Anta Buisan, Liya Pendulat Milog, Kusay Liwa Undas, Melan Manid Pensing, Amoy Dandan Guiambangan, Saliya B. Samad, and Feliza Labio Curpuz.