104-yr.-old grandma keeps organic diet to live long

Tabuk City, Kalinga – Becoming a centenarian is not an easy feat, and as a sign of respect and acknowledgment of their invaluable contributions to the community, the government has continuously provided them with cash gifts, not just from the local but also from the national government.

Last Tuesday, March 5, a 104-year-old grandma from Buscalan, Tinglayan, received a P50,000 cash gift from the Provincial Local Government Unit of Kalinga.

She likewise received an additional P5,000 from Governor James Edduba, which was handed over by his representatives.

The centenarian already received her P100,000 bounty from the national government at an earlier date. This is alongside a felicitation letter from the office of the president.

The centenarian, born on January 20, 1920, is Apu Pas-ad Ella Balinggao.

During the award ceremony spearheaded by the Office of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, the elderly mentioned that her diet is her secret to being able to live longer than many others.

According to Apo Pas-ad, her diet focuses mainly on organic, boiled vegetables without any food preservatives.

In Buscalan, vegetables being grown include sweet potatoes, beans, cabbage, gabi, and chayote. Wild vegetables such as 'pikaw'—a wild edible taro-like plant that usually grows in moist areas—are also present in the community.

With the monetary incentive she received, the elderly have nothing but gratitude to the provincial government and to the community.

To recall, the giving of cash incentives to centenarians in Kalinga was made possible through an ordinance authored by then-Board member Frederick Pangsiw in 2021.

The crafting of the ordinance stemmed from a letter from the Senior Citizen Federation requesting a P30,000 incentive for the centenarians in the province. The letter was endorsed by then Provincial Governor Ferdinand Tubban to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Instead of P30,000, Pangsiw recommended raising the amount to P50,000, reasoning out that the value of money decreases over time.