National Unity Party (NUP) president LRay Villafuerte has thrown support behind the commitment of Speaker Martin Romualdez for the House of Representatives to wield its oversight power to compel establishments to abide by laws granting discounts and other benefits to an estimated 35 million senior citizens, solo parents and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the country, and possibly even initiate prosecution against errant business enterprises.
Villafuerte, who has co-authored laws granting financial aid to the elderly and solo parents, gave his full support to the Speaker after the latter warned non-compliant establishments that the chamber would not hesitate to exercise its oversight power to force compliance by businesses with laws granting price discounts and other economic privileges to these vulnerable sectoral groups.
“Various laws have been aptly put in place to provide economic relief to our elderly, solo parents and PWDs to help cushion the impact on them of the ever spiraling cost of living,”
But until such time that the House wraps up its inquiry on this matter and clears up the issues as regards the implementation of the price discounts, the former CamSur governor called on national government agencies (NGAs) including the Departments of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) and National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) to work with local government units (LGUs) in ensuring the effective implementation of the laws beneficial to the elderly, single parents and PWDs.
“Various laws have been aptly put in place to provide economic relief to our elderly, solo parents and PWDs to help cushion the impact on them of the ever spiraling cost of living,” Villafuerte, who represents CamSur’s third district in the House, said. “These landmark laws on social reform will amount to nothing if they are honored more in the breach.”
Hence, his support for the Speaker’s pledge for the bigger chamber to see to it that those covered by laws granting privileges to certain sectors shall receive these economic benefits, he said.
“Entities that are granting the discounts and other benefits will be exposed and compelled to comply with the laws. We will not hesitate to initiate prosecution,” said the Speaker as the House committee on ways and means started the Romualdez-directed motu proprio investigation of the reported violations of Republic Act RA 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 and RA 10754 or an Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of PWDs, that grants seniors and PWDs a price slash of a combined 32%—a 20% discount plus exemption from the 12% value-added tax (VAT)—on certain essential purchases.
RA 11861, meanwhile, grants price discounts, too, and other economic benefits to single dads or single moms or to the legitimate guardians of the children of solo parents.
The House leadership had ordered the congressional investigation after the Speaker received reports on numerous violations of these laws, including the policy of coffeehouse chain Starbucks to limit the 32% discount on only one food item and a drink for every visit of a senior citizen or PWD, and the reported policy of bakeshop Goldilocks to restrict the discount to only a slice of a whole cake bought.
The management of Starbucks eventually apologized for what it called a signage “mistake” that limited the scope of the law-set discounts, and gave a day-long 40%-discount to seniors, PWDs and medal of valor awardees last Jan. 24 as an apology gesture.
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has also offered a 20%-discount to elderly Filipinos and PWDs who use its toll roads in Metro Manila and southern and northern Luzon.
Separately, Pasig City prosecutors had filed two cases for violation of RA 9994 and the Consumer Act of the Philippines or RA 7394 against executives of Marco Polo Hotel at the Ortigas Center in Pasig City for refusing to give the 20% discount to a female senior citizen who had stayed in a hotel room there.
The hotel’s front desk refused to give the discount when the female customer presented her Senior Citizen identification card (ID), ostensibly because the room was already on promo rate.
Under the law, however, a business establishment need not honor the senior citizen or PWD ID of a customer only if the supposed promo had the prior approval of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which then allows the customer to choose whether he or she would avail of the promo rate or the 32%-discount available to seniors and PWDs.
Apart from being a lead author of the laws benefiting seniors (RA 9994) and solo parents (RA 11861), Villafuerte also co-authored the enrolled bill approved last December by the House and the Senate that aims to grant the aged cash gifts by the time they reach 80, 85, 90 and 95 years of age.
Such monetary gifts are on top of the P100,000 cash bonanza that every senior is entitled to, under RA 10868 or the “Centenarians Act of 2016,” by the time he or she reaches the age of 100.
Villafuerte has likewise appealed to LGU officials to support the government in its continuing effort to put up an accurate database for an estimated 12.3 million elderly Filipinos nationwide.
He asked local executives to assist the NCSC in the national listing or cataloguing of our senior citizens, given its timeliness at this point when some 4 million elderly Filipinos who are considered as indigent are eligible to receive higher monthly subsidies of P1,000 each under RA 1196.
As of February 4, the NCSC has registered only 4,055,918 elderly Filipinos in its national database, or just a third of the projected 12.3 million senior citizens all over the country.
Solo parents are entitled to the 10% discount and VAT exemption on their purchases of essentials such as baby’s milk, diapers and doctor-prescribed medicines for their kids six years of age and below, under RA 11861 or “The Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act.”
However, Villafuerte pointed out that this hefty price discount under the law can be availed of only by solo parents earning P250,000 each or below per year—the same income bracket as those who are exempted from paying income taxes under RA 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.
“We are looking forward to the full compliance by the concerned establishments with this financial relief under RA 11869 for low-income single parents who have single-handedly been raising their babies, toddlers and/or preschoolers,” Villafuerte, a lead proponent of this law, said.
