Ordinance Granting Incentives to Elderly in LU passed in SP
By: Rafael C. Mosuela, GPC-SP | Photos By: GPC-SP | Date: June 14, 2022
Board Member Francisco Paolo P. Ortega V has authored an ordinance entitled “Granting Monetary Incentives to Octogenarians, Nonagenarians, and Centenarians who are Bona Fide Residents in the Province of La Union and Appropriating Funds Thereof”. It was then approved on the final reading by the August Body during its regular session last Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
The said ordinance was based on Art. XIII Section 11 of the 1987 constitution wherein State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development which shall endeavor to make essential goods, health and other social services available to all the people at affordable cost. There shall be priority for the needs of the under-privileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women, and children; and that section 4, Article XV of the Constitution also states that the family has the duty to care for its elderly members but the State may also do so through just programs of social security.
Further, Republic Act no. 10868 also known as “An act Honoring and Granting Additional Benefits to Filipino Centenarians was signed into law, providing motivation for the fellow Filipino Citizens to live longer. Centenarians shall receive the amount of P100,000 as a gift from the National Government.
Under the approved ordinance, an Octogenarian who belongs to the age bracket starting from 85-89 years of age at the time of the approval of the ordinance shall receive the first tranche of the monetary incentive amounting to five thousand pesos (P5,000.00), a Nonagenarian ages 90-94 years old shall be given a benefit amounting to five thousand pesos, Nonagenarian ages 95-99 years old shall be given a benefit amounting to Ten thousand pesos.
It is also stated therein that a senior citizen who reaches his/her centenarian years upon the effectivity of this ordinance shall be given the full centenarian benefit of P50,000.00.
According to Hon. Ortega, one of the strong Filipino values is love and care for the elderly as part of the trait of having strong family ties, including here in the province do possess such values and traits, however, he said despite increasing trends in the global population of centenarians, the current lifestyle of Filipinos, living environment, type of food eaten and availability of medicines, the number of our province mates who reaches the age of 100 is still low.
He even added that this ordinance was intended to celebrate and give honor to the life of the elderly, where the monetary incentive could be used by them for their daily subsistence, medicines including their health and wellness.
