A NATIVE priest or a mambunong and a single mom who raised her only son doing odd jobs are the latest members of the very exclusive “Club 100” who are expected to receive cash rewards from the city and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“Now the city has recognized our latest centenarians,” said councilor Lilia Farinas on Wednesday after the city council's approval of the resolution, honoring Calixto Chachacan Batiyeg and Dativa Jose Morales who both recently turned 100 years old.
The resolution was adopted by all members of the city council as co-authors.
Batiyeg, who was born and raised at Barangay Loakan, turned 100 last January 3 to join Morales, who celebrated her centennial on December 9 last year to be among the city’s few centenarians.
Farinas, chairman of the city council’s committee on social welfare, women and urban poor, said the two 100-year-olds were recognized through the resolution.
They will join the honorees during the annual charter day anniversary of the city on September 1.
Each will receive PHP20,000 from the city government, while the DSWD will be giving PHP100,000.
“I just hope that they will still be present when they receive the honor to be bestowed by the city,” added Farinas.
Batiyeg is a practicing mambunong in his barangay where he leads the prayer during rituals.
Batiyeg is under the care of his youngest daughter Gina del Rosario along with his wife, the former Modesta Parisas who is now 92 years old.
The approved resolution described Batiyeg as healthy despite his advanced age and still does mambunong works.
It said the honoree is still “physically active, mobile, and with good hearing, he communicates well.”
It also said Batiyeg still does his personal activities ably such as taking a bath, cooking his food, and buying things on his own but he needs a lot of rest whenever he can.
Batiyeg’s secret to his long life is living simply, saying “he always completes his three square meals a day and prefers simple food without preservatives such as catsup, vinegar, soy sauce, and others.”
In October last year, Batiyeg received PHP10,000 from the city under Ordinance No. 84 series of 2019, which provided the cash reward for people who reach 90 years old.
The other honoree, Morales, on the other hand, was born in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, who worked in Manila as a household help until she was 40 years old. By then, she already had a child, Pedro Morales, now 62, with whom she stays with until now.
Unlike Batiyeg, Morales is rather weak, “forgetful, being unable to talk very much, and hard up in the hearing, she sleeps most of the time and does some walking at home.”
Her son practically grew up with his relatives as his mother sought for work somewhere else and sends money for his upkeep and studies.
He eventually finished marine engineering and worked until his retirement. (By Pigeon Lobien)
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