Quezon centenarian awaits gov’t incentive

NATIVIDAD MARCA BARRETTO ARCAYA CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

There is really no secret for breaching the centenarian mark, but lots of walking, proper hygiene and shying away from food additives can help someone join the elite list someday.

And there’s one more. Throw in anting-anting, and what you’ve got is a super Lola.

Popularly known to the townsfolk as Lola Naty, Natividad Marca Barretto Arcaya holds the distinction of being the oldest living individual in the seaside, historic town of Gumaca, Quezon, five hours away by land from Metro Manila.

Now 103, Lola Naty has survived to tell harrowing tales of the Japanese occupation. Although poor, the family ate three times a day while in hiding, according to her eldest daughter Belen.

“We survived by eating root crops. Lola Naty also peddled rice cakes and exchanged old clothes for bananas and cassava,” Belen said.

Lola Naty has seven children, six of whom are still living. She has more than 20 grandchildren.

Almost deaf and unable to leave her dilapidated bed without the aid of any of her seven siblings, Lola Naty, however, keeps the conversation alive with her wit and ability to remember events.

When asked to divulge her secret of longevity, Arcaya muttered something about the joy of walking and taking a bath every day.

Lola Naty and her brother. Deogracias, were among those who pioneered in selling sweepstakes tickets in the province.

“I remember my mother selling tickets not only here in Gumaca but to neighboring towns as well,” recalled Belen, now 78. “I guess that was exercise.”

Lola Naty also became talk of the town as she sold the winning ticket for the grand prize to a Chinese family in 1975. The prize then was P2,000.

“She’s (Lola Naty) so happy,” said Belen. But after 40 years of peddling tickets, failing health forced Lola Naty to stop selling tickets.

“We were also afraid that she’d meet an accident,” said Belen, who is married to a former village chief in Barangay Bagong Buhay.

No food additives

A grandchild, Emmanuel Jarapa, said her grandmother never used food additives commonly sold at neighborhood stores when cooking.

Belen said her mother never fails to tell her stories about something she’s been carrying inside her for a long time. “She tells me about a dream. She’s chasing a doctor but the doctor is too fast for her,” Belen said.

When asked to elaborate, Lola Naty, now half-lucid, said: You need to call a doctor so that he can end my suffering and take out what I am carrying.”

Lola Naty, though, has a more immediate problem. She badly needs financial help for the rising cost of her daily medications.

House Bill No. 834, otherwise known as the “Centenarians Act of 2012,” has been approved by the House of Representatives. Authored by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, it provides centenarians a P100,000 cash reward, a tax discount and a congratulatory note from the President.

“We asked our political leaders how can we avail of this incentive. But, the answer is in the negative because they say there is no budget yet. We just feel that time is no longer on my mother’s side,” Belen said.