INCENTIVES for senior citizen ages 80 to 99 years old is being mulled in Benguet province.
The proposed law recognizes the vital role of the senior citizens and their contribution to the development of the province granting benefits and cash incentives known as "Octogenarian, Nonagenarian and Centenarian ordinance of the province of Benguet" authored by Board Member Robert Namoro.
Provincial Administrator Attorney Noel Ngolob however said the benefits for octogenarian and nonagenarian remains in the gray area as they are still studying the legal basis of the benefits.
"We will give the incentives to those who have reached 100 because there is legal basis for such but as to the 80-year-old and above, it will still be subject to validation if there is really a basis for us to implement such," said Ngolob.
Ngolob added the legal basis for octogenarians and nonagenarians should not be based on a provincial ordinance but on a national law as remarked by the Department of Budget and Management.
Octogenarian include those who have attained the age of 80 up to 89 years old who will receive a P3,000 incentive and P5,000 for nonagenarians or those who have reached the age of 90 up to 99 – years – old who are residents of the province.
A P1-million budget was appropriated for the ordinance.
Earlier, Benguet has released benefit to centenarians amounting to P10,000 distributed to 28 centenarians who completed the documents and availed themselves of benefits for senior citizens.
Aside from the cash incentive, a centenarian can avail of a free medical check-up in any medical health facility owned and operated by the Provincial Government.
