Marikina Representative Marcelino Teodoro has filed a bill that seeks to give centenarians a cash gift of P100,000 on their hundredth birthday.
According to the House Public Relations and Information Bureau, Teodoro also wants the Expanded Senior Citizens Act amended further to give centenarians a 50-percent discount on the Value-Added Tax on goods and services.
“As our nation’s role model for living long, health and disciplined lives, centenarians should indeed be honored and respected accordingly by the younger generations, through the government’s appropriate recognition and allocation of substantial pecuniary incentives,” the lawmaker from Marikina said.
If passed into law, Teodoro’s bill will also have the President write centenarians a letter congratulating them on their long life.
Former Albay Representative Edcel Lagman filed a similar measure in the 15th Congress but President Benigno Aquino III vetoed the bill. In a counterpart bill filed at the Senate, former Senator Francis Pangilinan increased the discount to centenarians to 75 percent.
The President said giving centenarians a 75-percent discount would be too much of a burden for businesses.
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Photo: Centenarians at a ceremony honoring them in Quezon City
