Zamboanguita: Fourteen senior citizens aged 80 and above from two towns in Negros Oriental received a cash incentive from the government as part of the Expanded Centenarians Act. Key officials from the National Commission for Senior Citizens (NCSC) led the payout event at the gymnasium in Zamboanguita.

According to Philippines News Agency, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, the officer-in-charge chair and commissioner of the NCSC, highlighted that this cash distribution marks the first of its kind in Negros Oriental. She noted, “They were the first to submit their applications for the cash incentive for senior citizens aged 80, 85, 90, and 95,” referring to the beneficiaries, which included 12 residents from Zamboanguita and two from Dauin. Dr. Loreche encouraged other senior citizens in the specified age brackets to apply for the Expanded Centenarian incentive.

Each of the senior citizens received PHP10,000 from the NCSC, with an additional PHP5,000 donated by Ninay Asuncion Dela Pena Recto, a philanthropist from Zamboanguita. Among the beneficiaries, 85-year-old Daniela Delmo Rodriguez, a widow from Barangay Maluay, expressed her gratitude for the assistance. Speaking in Cebuano, she remarked that the financial aid “is a big help to the elderly who have no income,” and shared her intention to use the funds to purchase medicines.

In addition to the cash distribution, the NCSC, along with local government officials and agency representatives, inaugurated the Senior Citizens Community Care Center (SC3C) in Zamboanguita. This center is the first of its kind in Negros Oriental and the fifth in the Philippines. Present at the event were NCSC Commissioners Reymar Mansilungan and Lt. Gen. Rainier Cruz III (ret.), as well as officials from the local government unit, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Health.