Two years after reaching their 100th birthday, four Aeta centenarians finally received on Wednesday (February 11) their PhP100,000 cash gifts under the Expanded Centenarian Act (ECA).

Their wait came to an end after stories of their plight became viral in social media, prompting the National Commission of Senior Citizens and the local government of Capas, Tarlac to process their respective applications for ECA benefits.

On Wednesday, NCSC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Merceditas Gutierrez personally handed over their PHP100,000 cash gifts as provided under the ECA, marking a long-awaited recognition of their milestone years.

The simple yet meaningful ceremony, held at the Capas Events Center on Wednesday, also included the presentation of felicitation letters from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., paying tribute to the centenarians’ remarkable longevity and contributions to their community.

Gutierrez said the commission moved swiftly once the applications of the Aeta beneficiaries were formally submitted, underscoring the agency’s commitment to ensuring that no senior citizen is left behind.

She expressed gratitude to the local government and partner agencies whose coordination made the immediate release of the benefits possible.

“It is truly possible to deliver the rightful gift for our Filipino senior citizens when we work together—from the local government to the national level,” Gutierrez said in Filipino.

The turnover of the cash and other benefits also put an end to the blame throwing between the NCSC and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The DSWD was put in charge of the original Centenarian Act but the amendatory ECA provided that the NSCS will implement the cash gift program for both centenarians, who were the original beneficiaries, and other senior citizens who were to receive PhP10,000 upon reaching the milestone ages of 80, 85, 90 and 95.

The ECA was signed into law on March 17, 2024.

The NCSC clarified that it received the beneficiaries’ applications and the local government’s endorsement only on Feb. 9, a year after the administration of the Expanded Centenarians Act was transferred to the commission.

Reaffirming its mandate, the NCSC stressed that no indigenous senior citizen—regardless of generation—is ever excluded from recognition and support.