By DJ Yap
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines–She has literally seen the growth of Makati City from the time it was still known as San Pedro Makati to its rise as the financial capital of the country.
Today, 101-year-old Paula Garcia-Samarista will be honored, along with two of her slightly younger peers, in a special ceremony at the Makati City Hall celebrating their longevity.
To mark the beginning of Senior Citizen’s Week, the city famous for pampering its elderly residents will pay tribute to Garcia-Samarista, Melchora Oria-Ancheta, 97, and Mercedes Sarmiento-Belandres, 95.
Mayor Jejomar Binay will lead local officials in the ceremony to be conducted at the City Hall quadrangle, where the three will receive a cash reward and a certificate recognizing their status as the city’s most senior inhabitants.
Garcia-Samarista was born on June 29, 1906 to the late Sinporosa Garcia of Culi-Culi, now known as Barangay Pio del Pilar, Makati.
Just five years before she was born, San Pedro Makati, with a population of just 2,500, was incorporated into the province of Rizal. On Feb. 28, 1914, the Philippine Legislature passed a law shortening the name to just Makati.
Garcia-Samarista is the widow of the late Marcial Samarista, with whom she bore seven children. She has 22 grandchildren.
Ancheta, on the other hand, was born on Jan. 6, 1910 to the late Doroteo Oria and Fausta Medina of Bulangao, Pangasinan. At the age of 29, she married Nicolas Ancheta and bore three children, who produced for them 12 grandchildren.
Belandres, a pharmacist by profession, was born on Sept. 22, 1912 to Simeon Sarmiento and Justay Dimaandal of Batangas City.
A former Miss Batangas, she married Angel Belandres, an agriculture graduate from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños, with whom she had two children. She has four grandchildren.
Aside from honoring the city’s oldest living residents, officials will visit elderly patients at the city run-hospital, the Ospital ng Makati in Barangay Pembo, and the Acute Care Center in Barangay Bel-Air.
The following day, a similar visit will be conducted at private hospitals, including the Makati Medical Center and St. Clare Hospital on Dian Street in Barangay Palanan.
“Our visits and gift-giving will not only focus on our oldest residents, but on the elderly who are confined in these four hospitals, because they, too, deserve to be remembered on this special week dedicated to honor them,” Binay said.
Each patient will receive a bag of groceries from the city government.
Other events for Senior Citizen’s Week include a table tennis tournament at the Barangay Guadalupe Nuevo Covered Court on Oct. 3, and a “Hindi Pa Kami Laos” singing contest on Oct. 4 at the Mini Theater of the University of Makati.
On Oct. 5, the city will hold “Pasayaw ng mga Pasaway,” a ballroom dance at the City Hall quadrangle, and a “Physical Fitness Day” on Oct. 6.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:50 pm
[...] Being Filipino : Makati honors 101-year-old grandmother [...]