Legarda: 2017 Budget Funds Centenarian Law, Rice Allowance for 4Ps

Senator Loren Legarda today said that the 2017 national budget includes funding, for the first time, for the Centenarian Law and rice allowance for beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Funding for the two programs, as well as other programs for indigent Filipinos, especially senior citizens and children, is part of the 2017 budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) worth P128 billion.

“For the first time, we have provided funds for the implementation of the Centenarian Law, which was enacted last year. 4Ps beneficiaries will start receiving monthly rice allowance in the form of cash grants,” said Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance.

“Other programs that target the most vulnerable sectors of society—children, senior citizens, indigenous peoples (IPs), and citizens in conflict-affected areas—are prioritized in the DSWD budget,” she added.

The DSWD budget for the implementation of Republic Act 10868 or the Centenarian Law is P100 million. Under the law, Filipino citizens here and abroad who are 100 years old and above will receive P100,000 centenarian gift from the government.

Meanwhile, all 4.4 million beneficiaries of the 4Ps will now be entitled to monthly rice allowance in the form of cash grants. This is incorporated in the budget for 4Ps worth P78 billion.

The DSWD will also conduct family development sessions for 4Ps beneficiaries. These sessions will include information on access to livelihood and scholarship programs and topics on the protection of the environment, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and mitigation, including the preservation of the indigenous culture in their locality. It will also conduct capacity building programs to prepare its beneficiaries for the onset of natural hazards.

Indigent senior citizens will also continue to receive P500 monthly stipend under the DSWD’s Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens; while undernourished children are the target beneficiaries of the Department’s Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) for 2-4 year old children in supervised neighborhood play and in Day Care Centers.

The 2017 budget also funds the Comprehensive Project for Street Children, Street Families and IPs, as well as the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Program for conflict-affected areas.

“We have provided funds for these programs of the DSWD to ensure that we address the needs and concerns of our citizens who are most in need. We want to uplift the lives of our people and empower them to be part of nation-building,” Legarda concluded.