President Marcos Jr signs into law the Tatak Pinoy Act and Expanded Centenarians Act in Malacañang. Courtesy: MPC Pool

MANILA (UPDATED) — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Monday signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11981 or the Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act and RA 11982 granting benefits to Octogenarians and Nonagenarians.

 The signing was held at the Ceremonial Hall in Malacañang, and witnessed by key Palace officials, as well as leaders of both the Philippine House of Representatives and the Senate.

 "Today, it’s my honor to sign into law two bills, which do not only honor two key sectors of society, but mandate measures that protect their rights and promote their development,” the President said in his speech.

 According to Malacañang, the Tatak Pinoy Act “upholds inclusive economic growth and development in the country by encouraging, supporting, and promoting the production and offering of local products and services of increasing diversity, sophistication, and quality by domestic enterprises that are globally competitive.”

 It mandates the creation of a Tatak Pinoy Council that will speahead the development and implementation of a multi-year strategy that will encourage, support, and promote the production of diverse, sophisticated, and quality local products and services that are globally competitive.

 The law also mandates the Philippine government to prioritize Filipino products and services in government procurement for a decade, and to strengthen collaboration between the public and private sectors.

 “Tatak Pinoy is more than a branding exercise. It is about incubating and incentivizing great products that deserve to carry the ‘Made in the Philippines’ trademark,” he continued.

 “It’s not about simply slapping labels on goods and services, but showing their provenance proudly that they are gawang Pinoy. It is about creating products and services of the highest quality, because Tatak Pinoy is also about excellence, and as a seal of great workmanship, it must only be applied to those that meet this high standard. And as such, we shall give preference and priority to our products.”

Meanwhile, the Grant of Benefits to Filipino Octogenarians and Nonagenarians expands the coverage of RA 10868, or the Centenarians Act of 2016, “to include all Filipinos, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad to be a recipient of a cash gift worth PhP10,000 upon reaching the age of 80 and every five years thereafter, or until the age of 95,” Malacanang said.

 “The expansion of the coverage of the Centenarians Act is a homage to the Filipino trait of compassion, and in our culture, none are showered with more kind and loving care than our elderly,” Marcos said.

 More than receiving cash in an envelope, the Philippine leader said that elderly Filipinos deserve “a support infrastructure that every society owes to its greying population.”

 “There were already close to 10 million seniors two years ago… But as this demographic enlarges, the societal facilities that attend to them should be expanded as well,” the President said. “When we think of the future, it is not just about, as Hubert Humphrey once said, “those who are in the dawn of life, our children,” but also “those in the twilight of life, our elderly.””

 The National Commission on Senior Citizens meanwhile clarifies that the grant will only be given on the same year that the senior citizen reaches their milestone ages of 80, 85, 90, and 95.

 “Talagang it should be effective within the year. So ang mag-e-80, mag-e-85, magna-90, magna-95 ngayong taon na ito ang makakatanggap. And ang measure non, starting January to December. So hindi po pwedeng sabihin natin, dahil lumampas na ng 80 last year ay makakatanggap na, hindi po. Kung kelan effective ang batas, yun po ang effective doon mag-uumpisa,” Atty Franklin Quijano, chair of the National Commission on Senior Citizens told ABS-CBN News.

 Quijano welcomed the signing of the measure into law, saying that it encourages senior citizens to lead long and healthy lives.

 “Ang nakikita kong logic dito, it is preparing themselves into longevity. It’s not about the money, kasi maliit lang, P10,000 lang eh. It’s really about encouraging all Filipinos to prepare themselves into longevity, kailangan hahaba ang buhay hindi lang 100 ang makakatanggap, pati na rin ang 80,” he said.

 “Ibig sabihin sikapin natin na maabot natin ang 80, pagkatapos sikapin din natin na maabot ang 85, then 90, then 95, 5 years nalang, sikapin nating maging 100 nang sa ganon, parang iniencourage natin, hinihikayat natin na we must have healthy long lives.”

 Marcos meanwhile thanked the House and Senate for passing the two measures.

“It proves, once again, the tenet that bicameralism was designed to bring together the brilliance of two bodies through compromise,” he said.