Filipina believed to be the oldest person in the world passes away at the age of 124

Michelle De Pacina
Updated ·2 min read

The last surviving person born in the 19th century, Francisca Susano, passed away this month at the age of 124.

Lola Iska: Susano, who was affectionately known as “Lola Iska,” passed away in her sleep at around 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 22 in Negros Occidental, Philippines.

  • According to CNN, the Filipina was born on Sept. 11, 1897, which was the year before the Philippines broke free from Spanish colonization.

  • While her body is set for a COVID-19 test to determine her cause of death, her city’s public information officer Jake Carlyne Gonzales stated that Susano did not show any symptoms of the virus.

  • The City of Kabankalan was first to announce Susano’s death on their official Facebook page. “It is with sadness in our heart when we received the news that our beloved Lola Francisca Susano passed away early this Monday evening November 22,” the statement read.


(To view the photos below, you must click on the Facebook post and look through the social media platform.)


  • “Lola Iska is considered the oldest person in Negros Occidental and in the Philippines,” they added.

  • According to Manila Bulletin, Susano has 14 children. One of them is considered a centenarian at the age of 101.

  • Susano received a plaque of recognition and cash from the National Commission on Senior Citizens for her 124th birthday celebration.


Her time: 1897 was at the tail-end of the 19th century, which saw both Industrial Revolutions, the Civil War and countless major scientific and technological innovations happen, but Susano’s birth year also saw many historical developments of its own. A few of those include:

  • Physicist and future Nobel Prize winner J.J. Thompson announced his discovery of the electron in London in 1897.

  • The Victorian era was still in effect until it ended with Queen Victoria’s death four years later in 1901.

  • Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas in July of Susano’s birth year.


The Guinness World Records was in the process of verifying Susano's documents in order to officially declare her as the world's oldest person in September of this year; however, results have yet to be released.

Featured Image via City Government of Kabankalan

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