CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO
“It is my goal to reach the age of 200,” Rosita Motencillo-Codilla told the media as she received her P50,000 cash gift from the Office of the Vice Governor on Tuesday morning.
Codilla, now 107, was born on June 15, 1910. She was crowned Miss Sogod in 1927.
The former beauty queen got married in 1939 before she reached 20 years old and has four children.
Only her 74-year old daughter, Dina Codilla-Calipay, is still alive.
According to Dina, the ‘absolutely no mean, all fresh vegetables’ diet and a positive outlook in life are the main factors why her mother remains healthy until now.
Dina is living with her mother in Talisay City.
Though she has to sit on a wheelchair every time she goes out, Codilla consistently displays a jolly behavior. She smiles and greets everyone she meets.
She even offered her favorite love song to Vice Governor Agnes Magpale, who personally handed her the cash gift.
Having a long life seems to be in Codilla’s family lineage as her mother also lived for 116 years, while her husband died at the age of 97.
On Tuesday, another centenarian received P50,000 cash from Magpale on her 102nd birthday.
The Cebu Provincial Board in April approved to increase the cash gifts for centenarians from P20,000 to P30,000, considering the increasing prices of medicines and other basic commodities.