Cotabato centenarian seeks gov’t incentive

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Cotabato, Philippines — The municipal government of Arakan in Cotabato province has started preparing documents to support the incentive claim of a centenarian from the indigenous Obu Manuvu community, who, at 112, may qualify to be the oldest living person in the country following the death this week of Negros Occidental’s Francisca Susano.

Under Republic Act No. 10868, or the Centenarians Act of 2016, a centenarian is entitled to a P100,000 cash gift from the government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Authorities discovered Apo Andiaz Embog Magao to be a centenarian last week when he availed of the Serbisyo Caravan program of the Cotabato provincial government and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Magao, who lives in the mountain village of San Miguel in Arakan Valley, asked the PSA to reconstruct his birth certificate which he said was lost during World War II.

Although he can no longer remember the names of his parents, he still knows his birth date and birthplace. Magao said he was born on Nov. 13, 1909 in Barangay Tinanan, Arakan, making him 112 years old.

At the time of his birth, Cotabato was part of the Moro province created by the American colonial government in 1903.

Magao said he wanted to have a copy of his birth certificate so he could avail of government programs for senior citizens and benefits for centenarians.