100-yr.-old man in Tinglayan shares secret of having a long life

Tinglayan, Kalinga – There is no way to guarantee that we will live for 100 years on this planet, but knowing the secret of those who reached that age might help us increase the number of our years.

In Tinglayan, a 100-year-old man who recently received a P100,000 centenarian incentive from the government shared his secret to a long and happy life.

Lolo Andrew Amog Maldis from Barangay Old Tinglayan disclosed in an interview that his diet is his key to longevity.

Lolo Andrew only eats rice with vegetables as his meal. It is only during ‘Pusipos’, a ritual for sick elders that he gets to taste meat.

The vegetables the old man has been feeding himself come from those they usually grow in their village. These include beans, cabbage, gabi, chayote, and 'pikaw'—a wild edible taro-like plant that usually grows in moist areas, among others.

With the topography of the area where he lives, the elderly man walks and hikes, which becomes a regular exercise.

Larae Lactao, the Municipal Information Officer, said that the senior citizen can still walk without a walking stick.

“During diay napanan da [nagalaan diay cash assistance], ket napigsa pay suna nga magmagna. Saan pay agusar sarukod,” she recalled.

P100,000 Centenarian Cash Assistance

As part of the implementation of Republic Act No. 110868 or the Centenarians Act of 2016, the Department of Social Welfare and Development grants centenarians cash gifts and a letter of felicitation to those who have reached 100 years old and above.

The awarding of the cash gift to Lolo Andrew by the DSWD-Cordillera, alongside the Municipal Social Welfare Development Office, transpired on November 28, 2023.

Lolo Andrew is the sixth centenarian to have received cash assistance from the MLGU since the program started in 2019.

The first recipient of the program is Apo Whang-od, dubbed the “oldest and last-surviving hand tap tattoo artist” (mambabatok).

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