S. No. 449

H. No. 5780

Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines

Metro Manila

Sixteenth Congress

Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-seventh day of July, two thousand fifteen.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title.— This Act shall be known as the “Centenarians Act of 2016”.

Section 2. Letter of Felicitation and Cash Gift.— All Filipinos who reach the age of one hundred (100) years old, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad, shall be honored with:

(a) A Letter of Felicitation from the President of the Philippines congratulating the celebrant for his or her longevity; and

(b) A Centenarian Gift in the amount of one hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000.00).

Section 3. National Respect for Centenarians Day.— As part of the annual Elderly Filipino Week, October 1 to 7, the first Sunday of October is hereby declared as National Respect for Centenarians Day during which, all Filipinos who have turned centenarian in the current fiscal year shall be awarded a plaque of recognition and a cash incentive by their respective city or municipal governments in appropriate ceremonies in addition to the Letter of Felicitation and Centenarian Gift provided in Section 2 hereof. The local government unit concerned shall determine the amount of the cash incentive.

Section 4. Older Surviving and Deceased Centenarians.— All living centenarians who reached the age of one hundred (100) years old prior to the effectivity of this Act shall be honored on the celebration of the first National Respect for Centenarians Day or one hundred twenty (120) days after the effectivity of this Act, whichever comes earlier, in appropriate ceremonies which shall be observed as a national event. They shall each be awarded a plaque of recognition and the Centenarian Gift referred to in Section 2 hereof. In the same event, posthumous plaques of recognition in honor of deceased centenarians shall be presented to the nearest surviving relative of each centenarian.

Section 5. Funding.— During the initial year of the implementation of this Act, the requisite fund shall be sourced from the available funds of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and subsequently the amount necessary to implement the provisions of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Section 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations.— Within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of this Act, the Secretaries of the DSWD, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Health, and the Executive Director of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, shall promulgate the necessary guidelines for and shall take the lead in the effective implementation of this Act.

Section 7. Repealing Clause.— All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with any provision of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Section 8. Effectivity.— This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation, which shall not be later than seven (7) days after the approval thereof.

Approved, (Sgd)

FELICIANO BELMONTE JR.

Speaker of the House of Representatives (Sgd)

FRANKLIN M. DRILON

President of the Senate Senate Bill No. 449, which was approved by the Senate on May 23, 2016, was adopted as an amendment to House Bill No. 5780 by the House of Representatives on May 23, 2016. (Sgd)

MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP

Secretary General

House of Representatives (Sgd)

OSCAR G. YABES

Secretary of the Senate (Sgd)

BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

President of the Philippines