National Unity President LRay Villafuerte wants the Department of Health (DOH) to look into year end reports that certain drug stores or pharmacies refused to grant discounts to senior citizens who do not have their purchase booklets with them when buying their medicines, in violation of a newly-issued DOH order requiring the elderly to present only their identification cards (IDs) and doctors’ prescriptions to avail of such law-mandated price cuts.
Villafuerte said, “The DOH and other appropriate government offices need to check on the compliance of drugstores with DOH AO (Administrative Order No.) 2024-0017 and to crack down on erring establishments, as the reported refusal of certain pharmacies to sell prescription meds to elderly Filipinos is a blatant breach of RA (Republic Act No.) 9994.”
“I am at the same time appealing to the DOH and the other appropriate agencies to consider expanding this new privilege by similarly allowing PWDs (persons with disabilities) to present only their IDs and doctors’ prescriptions, and no longer their purchase booklets, when availing of their same price discounts in their OTC (over-the-counter) purchases,” Villafuerte said.
He said, “I am calling, too, on the appropriate agencies to consider expanding this new policy for elderly Filipinos by also removing this purchase book-requirement when they purchase their basic commodities at a discount in groceries,” said Villafuerte, who has authored or co-authored various legislative measures for the benefit of seniors and PWDs.
Villafuerte said that about a week after Herbosa’s announced release of DOH AO 2024-0017, there was a media report about the refusal of certain drugstores to honor the discounts for senior citizens, as mandated by RA 9994, who did not present their purchase booklets when doing their OTC purchases.
Just before Christmas Day, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa announced last Dec. 23 the release of DOH AO 2024-0017 removing the requirement for senior citizens to present their purchase booklets to avail of their discounts whenever buying their medicines in drugstores.
RA 9994, or the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010,” entitled Filipinos 60 years of age and above to a 20% discount plus exemption from the 12% value added tax (VAT) when they buy their medicines, provided they have with them their doctors’ prescriptions along with their senior citizen IDs and purchase booklets issued by the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCAs) in their respective localities.
PWDs are entitled to the same discounts on their prescription medicines under RA 10754, or the “Magna Carta for Persons with Disability” of 2015.
Doctors’ prescriptions are needed for seniors and PWDs to avail of their medicines, including maintenance drugs for hypertension and diabetes, among others.
Villafuerte said that about a week after Herbosa’s announced release of DOH AO 2024-0017, there was a media report about the refusal of certain drugstores to honor the discounts for senior citizens, as mandated by RA 9994, who did not present their purchase booklets when doing their OTC purchases.
DOH spokesman Albert Domingo was quoted as saying in that media report that RA 9994 provided for penalties against establishments that refuse to grant the 20% discount and VAT exemption to seniors.
Villafuerte noted that Section 7 of RA 9994 slaps on first-time violators a fine of P50,000 to P100,000 and jail time of two (2) to 6 years, and a fine of P100,000 to P200,000 and imprisonment of 2 to 6 years also for subsequent offenses.
Erring establishments face the cancellation of their franchises or business permits as well, he said.
Following the exercise by the House of its congressional oversight task under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez, Villafuerte said that the chamber last year pushed the strict enforcement of laws granting price discounts to seniors and PWDs whenever dining in, or ordering food from, restaurants.
The Romualdez-led House also succeeded in getting the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), of Agriculture (DA) and of Energy (DOE) to almost double the discounts of seniors and PWDs on their purchases of basic commodities in groceries and other retail outlets from a maximum of P260 to P500 per month, he said.
Villafuerte was a lead author of RA 11916, or “An Act Increasing the Social Pension of Indigent Senior Citizens”–it amended both RA 7432, or “An Act to Maximize the Contribution of Senior Citizens to Nation Building,” and RA 9994, or the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act”—by doubling the monthly allowance of an estimated 4 million indigent seniors from P500 to P1,000.
Also, he co-authored RA 11982 or the “Act granting Benefits to Filipino Octogenarians and Nonagenarians,” which amended RA 10868, or the “Centenarians Act” of 2016, by granting a P10,000 cash gift each to senior citizens when they reach 80, 85, 90 and 95 years of age.
RA 10868 provided for a P100,000 gift each for seniors when they reach 100 years of age.
An outlay of P3 billion has been included in the proposed 2025 national budget for the government to give the P100,000 cash gift to every Filipino centenarian and P10,ooo each to seniors when they reach the age of 80, 85, 90 or 95.
Villafuerte also introduced House Bill (HB) No. 8223, which seeks the establishment of a Disability Support Allowance Program (DSAP) under the DSWD to serve as a social protection measure to enable PWDs to fully integrate into society.
HB 8223 mandates the DSWD to draw up, in consultation with the NCDA and a representative organization of PWDs, a support program granting a monthly stipend of an initial P2,000 to PWDs to help them cope with the ever-rising cost of living and support their full integration into our society.
Last year, Villafuerte reminded all establishments of their duty to put up or keep express or priority lanes for PWDs in their respective facilities, as provided for in RA 10754.
He said that in a seven-page opinion issued last September, the Department of Justice (DOJ) stressed that the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of RA 10754 clearly mandated all commercial and government establishments to have express lanes in their respective facilities for the benefit of PWDs.
Signed by Undersecretary Raul Vasquez on behalf of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, the DOJ opinion said that: “In the absence of physical express lanes in enterprises, these establishments should nonetheless give priority to PWDs who have transactions in their respective places of business.
“It likewise bears stressing that the legislature used the word ‘all’ without any exception or qualification. The word ‘all’ connotes ‘comprehensiveness’ and means ‘the whole collectively considered the complete totality’. The use of the word ‘all’ implies that the law does not intend to distinguish between the establishments or transactions involving items that are accessible to everyone and items which are of limited quantity,” the DOJ said in the letter.
The DOJ issued this position in response to the letter-query of National Council of Disability Affairs (NCDA) executive director Glenda Relova in connection with the implementation of express lanes or priority for PWDs, pursuant to Section 10 of RA 10754 on the provision of PWD express lanes in all commercial and government establishments.
