Tuesday, June 17, 2008 Cuenco moves to raise senior citizens’ discount
WITH soaring prices of basic goods these days, senior citizens pin their hopes on the immediate approval of a measure raising the old 20 percent discount on medicines to 30 percent.
Barangay Captain Felix Abella of Labangon, Cebu City, was glad to learn that the House committee on citizens affairs already approved a proposed bill expanding the privileges of senior citizens.
Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, South), authored the measured called the “Act Strengthening the Benefits and Privileges of Senior Citizens.”
The Federation of Senior Citizens Association of the Philippines (Fescap), a national organization, has lobbied in Congress to amend and improve RA 9257, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003.
For one, Abella said senior citizens could not avail themselves of a full 20 percent discount on medicines because of the 12 percent expanded-value added tax (E-Vat).
E-Vat
“So the senior citizens can only get an eight percent discounted rate because of the E-vat,” said Abella, Fescap Central Visayas head.
Section 6 of the proposed bill states that the elderly, age 60 and above, is entitled to get a 30 percent discount from all establishments such as hotels, lodging houses, restaurants, recreational centers, purchase of medicines and other essential medical supplies.
The discounted rate also includes funeral and burial services.
Apart from this, the new measure grants a five percent discount on gasoline, kerosene and other petroleum products provided that the purchase would not exceed P1,000 in a month.
P500 a day
The discount shall also be applied on a maximum of P500 in a day.
The five percent discount also covers the use of water and electricity, whose monthly consumption would not exceed 100 kilowatt hours for electricity or 30 cubic meters for water.
Other benefits include the exemption from individual income taxes, training fees for socio-economic programs, free medical and dental services, diagnostic and laboratory fees but not limited to x-rays, computerized tomography (CT) scans and blood tests, in all government facilities, subject to DOH guidelines.
Also covered in the 30 discount is the transportation fare in public utility vehicles, railway transit and any skyway transport, as well as educational assistance.
Abella is confident of the bill’s approval in the plenary when the sessions in the House of Representatives resume next month.
Sen. Eduardo Angara sponsored a similar version of the bill in the Senate. (GC)
