TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Born February 28, 1924, centenarian Rita Gaayon of Brgy. Bulanao received today her centenarian cash gift amounting to P50,000.00 from the city government.
Gaayon, who is the first centenarian to be recognized this year, is originally from Brgy. Aciga, Pinukpuk, and moved to Tabuk in 1981.
She earned a living as a farmer in her younger years by selling and trading a variety of goods. She completed grade seven and used her knowledge to provide for her two children, Cristanto and Epifania. In her prime, this centenarian was renowned for her fluency in English.
With seven grandchildren and one great grandchild, Gaayon stays with her daughter Epifania who looks after her.
Relatives claim that centenarian Gaayon used her spit to heal a variety of skin conditions. Those who, even after a time of hospitalization, were not given a clean bill of health allegedly turn to her for healing.
Gaayon has been confined to a wheelchair for many years due to physical discomforts brought on by chronic pain in her lower extremities. She had also lost her sense of hearing due to her aging.
Her daughter Epifania claims that the reason she lived to be a century old was because she ate a diet high in vegetables and low in meat most of the time.
Furthermore, Gaayon has been regarded as someone who made many sacrifices for her family by her two kids and closest friends, particularly during the period when her husband Pablo left her to be with another woman.
Centenarian Gaayon is also set to receive P100,000.00 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and another P50,000.00 from the provincial government anytime this year. She will use all the money for her maintenance medicines.
City Mayor Darwin Estrañero personally presented the centenarian cash gift and centenarian certificate, accompanied by City Special Concerns and Coordinating Officer Glen Wansi, the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs head Imelda Polig, Social Welfare Officer Marydhel Lattot, and members of the City Internal Audit Services Office. By Darwin S. Serion