It’s more fun in the City of Makati, especially if you’re a retiree, according to the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA).
Only recently, the PRA named Makati as the “Most Retirement-Friendly and Aging-Friendly City” in the country.
In particular, it hailed the city for fully complying with the age-friendly criteria set by the World Health Organization, including accessible social services and opportunities for community participation for retirees and the elderly.
The PRA said Makati has the highest attraction rate for retirees because of the proximity of malls and hospitals. It also cited the security in the city, its business-friendly climate and livable environment.
Based on its data, the PRA said Makati has the largest number of foreign retirees nationwide. Between 70 to 80 of these are from Asia, five percent from Europe, another five percent from North America, five percent Filipinos who had changed their citizenship or had availed themselves of dual citizenship while the remaining are from other countries.
At the same time, the PRA gave Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay the “Best of Radar 2012” Award for his “commitment and contribution to the retirement industry.” Radar stands for Retirement Areas Deemed as Retiree-Friendly.
Binay is the first mayor to receive the citation while Makati is the first city to be recognized by the PRA.
“Makati has attained its present status because our senior citizens have toiled hard ahead of us. The city government would like to give them more benefits to pay back what they done for us, the younger generation,” Binay said in a statement.
He noted that Makati gives “primary importance to senior citizens” as exemplified by the recent increase in the biannual allowance for senior citizens and other benefits like their being exempt from the number coding scheme, free mobility aids in addition to free movies, birthday cakes, hair cuts, salon treatments and even massages.