December 25, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the country have obtained P12 billion in benefits through the 20-percent discount on purchases of goods, especially medicines.
“We obtained at least P112 billion in benefits for these sectors, without even changing any laws yet. The removal of the booklet requirement is one of its major accomplishments,” said Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House committee on ways and means.
Salceda said the booklet requirement often denied senior citizens essential medicines.
“During the House hearings, it was brought up that the booklet requirement often causes senior citizens to get denied essential medicines. Senior citizens often forget these documents, or lose them,” Salceda said.
“The 20 percent medicine discount, along with the VAT-free treatment for a significant number of medicines, has been a lifesaver for many senior citizens,” the Albay congressman further said.
“It was Speaker Romualdez’s idea to bring the committees together and make things right for seniors and persons with disabilities,” he added.
He lauded the Department of Health (DOH) for its new policy of “bye bye booklet” under administrative order (AO) No. 2024-0017, which removed the requirement to senior citizens to present senior citizens’ booklet when availing of the 20-percent discount in the purchase of medicines.
“We were able to get Starbucks to do a 40-percent discount to compensate for misapplication of the standard discount,” Salceda added.
“We got Grab and Angkas to improve ease of access to SC (senior citizens) and PWD discounts. We got Meralco (Manila Electric Company) to make applying for the discount on electric bills easier. We got PhilHealth to expand benefits packages for PWDs. We got senior eligibility for TUPAD,” he added.
“We got DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), DA (Department of Agriculture) and DOE (Department of Energy) to expand the SC and PWD discount on basic goods from P260 a month to P500 a month,” he said.
For her part, United Senior Citizens party-list Rep. Milagros Aquino-Magsaysay thanked Health Sec. Ted Herbosa for removing the requirement of a purchase booklet for seniors to avail discount on medicines, pursuant to the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2020.
“We at the United Senior Citizens party-list are thankful to the DOH. This is laudable and indeed an early Christmas gift to over 12 million older persons nationwide,” Magsaysay said.
She called on other concerned agencies such as the DTI, Department of Social Welfare and Development, National Commission of Senior Citizens, Department of Information and Communication Technology, Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, among others, to act with urgency on similar calls of the older population to also abolish the policy of presenting the purchase booklet to avail of the 20-percent discount on basic necessities and prime commodities.
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