Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

NINETEENTHCONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 4447

Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE EDWIN L. OLIVAREZ

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Republic Act 7432, as amended by Republic Act 9994, targets to adopt
measures whereby our senior citizens are assisted and appreciated by the
community as a whole and to establish a program beneficial to the senior
citizens, their families and the rest of the community that they serve, among
others. As a form of support and appreciation to the senior citizens of our
country, a further development in the privileges currently enjoyed by them is
hereby being proposed.

Certain cities like Cebu, Manila, Muntinlupa and Quezon City have already
passed ordinances exempting senior citizens from the payment of parking fees.
However, the senior citizens who are enjoying this privilege in the said cities form
a very minute part of the elderly population of the Philippines.

To this end, this Bill proposes to institutionalize the exemption from the
payment of parking fees for the senior citizens all over the country. Furthermore,
this Bill provides certain guidelines and restrictions for the effective
implementation of said exemption from the payment of parking fees.

In view of thereof, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

\

EDWIN L. OLIVAREZ


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

NINETEENTHCONGRESS
First Regular Session

~ ASAT

House Bill No.

Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE EDWIN L. OLIVAREZ

AN ACT
EXEMPTING SENIOR CITIZENS FROM THE PAYMENT OF
PARKING FEES IN ALL COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS AND
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS THAT CHARGE PARKING FEES,
THEREBY AMENDING SECTION 4 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7432
AS AMENED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9257 AND FURTHER
AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9994, OTHERWISE KNOWN
AS THE “EXPANDED SENIOR CITIZENS ACT OF 2010”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known and cited

as the “Senior Citizens Free Parking Act."

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared as the

policy of the State to provide measures in order to prioritize the needs


of the elderly in order to motivate and encourage them in
contributing to nation building.

For this purpose, the government shall institutionalize the
exemption of the Senior Citizens from the payment of parking fees in
all commercial and government establishments subject to certain

guidelines and procedures.

SEC. 3. Additional privilege of parking fee exemption —
This Act shall cover all Filipino senior citizens driving a vehicle or on
board a vehicle which is privately owned upon presentation of a valid
senior citizen’s Identification Card in all commercial and government
establishments that charge parking fees.

Provided, that private establishments may claim the cost as tax

credit.

SEC. 4. Section 4 (a) of Republic Act No. 7342, as amended by
Republic Act No. 9257, and further amended by Republic Act No.

9994 otherwise known as the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010”


The senior citizens shall be entitled to the following:

"(a) the grant of twenty percent (20%) discount and
exemption from the value -added tax (VAT), if
applicable, on the sale of the following goods and
services from all establishments, for the exclusive use
and enjoyment or availment of the senior citizen

"(1) on the purchase of medicines, including the
purchase of influenza and pnuemococcal vaccines, and
such other essential medical supplies, accessories and
equipment to be determined by the Department of
Health (DOH).

"The DOH shall establish guidelines and mechanism of
compulsory rebates in the sharing of burden of
discounts among retailers, manufacturers and
distributors, taking into consideration their respective
margins;

"(2) on the professional fees of attending physician/s in
all private hospitals, medical facilities, outpatient clinics

and home health care services;


(3) on the professional fees of licensed professional
health providing home health care services as endorsed
by private hospitals or employed through home health
care employment agencies;

"(4) on medical and dental services, diagnostic and
laboratory fees in all private hospitals, medical
facilities, outpatient clinics, and home health care
services, in accordance with the rules and regulations
to be issued by the DOH, in coordination with the
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth);
"(S) in actual fare for land transportation travel in public
utility buses (PUBs), public utility jeepneys (PUJs),
taxis, Asian utility vehicles (AUVs), shuttle services and
public railways, including Light Rail Transit (LRT), Mass
Rail Transit (MRT), and Philippine National Railways
(PNR);

"(6) in actual transportation fare for domestic air
transport services and sea shipping vessels and the

like, based on the actual fare and advanced booking;


"(7) on the utilization of services in hotels and similar
lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation
centers;

(8) on admission fees charged by theaters, cinema
houses and concert halls, circuses, leisure and
amusement;

"(9) on funeral and burial services for the death of senior
citizens; and

10) on the payment of parking fees in all

commercial establishments _such_as_ shopping

malls, markets, hospitals and the like, as well as

government buildings charging parking fees;

"(b) exemption from the payment of individual income
taxes of senior citizens who are considered to be
minimum wage earners in accordance with Republic
Act No. 9504;

"(c) the grant of a minimum of five percent (5%) discount
relative to the monthly utilization of water and
electricity supplied by the public

utilities: Provided, That the individual meters for the


foregoing utilities are registered in the name of the
senior citizen residing therein: Provided, further, That
the monthly consumption does not exceed one hundred
kilowatt hours (100 kWh) of electricity and thirty cubic
meters (30 m3) of water: Provided, furthermore, That
the privilege is granted per household regardless of the
number of senior citizens residing therein;

"(a) exemption from training fees for socioeconomic
programs;

"(e) free medical and dental services, diagnostic and
laboratory fees such as, but not limited to, x-rays,
computerized tomography scans and blood tests, in all
government facilities, subject to the guidelines to be
issued by the DOH in coordination with the PhilHealth;
"(f) the DOH shall administer free vaccination against
the influenza virus and pneumococcal disease for
indigent senior citizen patients;

"(g) educational assistance to senior citizens to pursue
pot secondary, tertiary, post tertiary, vocational and

technical education, as well as short-term courses for


retooling in both public and private schools through
provision of scholarships, grants, financial aids,
subsides and other incentives to qualified senior
citizens, including support for books, learning
materials, and uniform allowances, to the extent
feasible: Provided, That senior citizens shall meet
minimum admission requirements;

"(h) to the extent practicable and feasible, the
continuance of the same benefits and privileges given
by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS),
the Social Security System (SSS) and the PAG-IBIG, as
the case may be, as are enjoyed by those in actual
service;

"() retirement benefits of retirees from both the
government and the private sector shall be regularly
reviewed to ensure their continuing responsiveness and
sustainability, and to the extent practicable and
feasible, shall be upgraded to be at par with the current

scale enjoyed by those in actual service;


"(j) to the extent possible, the government may grant
special discounts in special programs for senior citizens
on purchase of basic commodities, subject to the
guidelines to be issued for the purpose by the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the
Department of Agriculture (DA);

"(k) provision of express lanes for senior citizens in all
commercial and government establishments; in the
absence thereof, priority shall be given to them; and

") death benefit assistance of a minimum of Two
thousand pesos (Php2, 000.00) shall be given to the
nearest surviving relative of a deceased senior citizen
which amount shall be subject to adjustments due to
inflation in accordance with the guidelines to be issued
by the DSWD. lavuphil

"In the availment of the privileges mentioned above, the
senior citizen, or his/her duly authorized
representative, may submit as proof of his/her entitled

thereto any of the following:


"(1) an identification card issued by the Office of the
Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA) of the place where the
senior citizen resides: Provided, That the identification
card issued by the particular OSCA shall be honored
nationwide;

"(2) the passport of the senior citizen concerned; and
"(3) other documents that establish that the senior
citizen is a citizen of the Republic and is at least sixty
(60) years of age as further provided in the
implementing rules and regulations.

"In the purchase of goods and services which are on
promotional discount, the senior citizen can avail of the
promotional discount or the discount provided herein,
whichever is higher.

"The establishment may claim the discounts granted
under subsections (a) and (c) of this section as tax
deduction based on the cost of the goods sold or
services rendered: Provided, That the cost of the
discount shall be allowed as deduction from gross

income for the same taxable year that the discount is


granted: Provided, further, That the total amount of the
claimed tax deduction net of VAT, if applicable, shall be
included in their gross sales receipts for tax purposes
and shall be subject to proper documentation and to the
provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code

(NICR), as amended."

SEC. 5. Procedure and Qualifications. — In order to avail the
additional privilege provided in this Act, the following shall be
observed:

1. The senior citizen must either be a driver or a passenger in
the vehicle entering the establishment. Said senior citizen
must be able to present a valid Senior Citizen Identification
Card issued by the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs Office
or its equivalent upon entrance in the parking area of the
establishment. In case said Senior Citizen Identification Card
is unavailable or otherwise absent, any other valid
government-issued identification documents indicating the
date of birth and/or the age of the senior citizen shall suffice.

Valid government-issued identification documents include


but is not limited to: driver’s license, passport, postal ID,
voter’s ID, SSS/GSIS ID, Persons With Disability Card,
Professional Regulation Commission Card, Integrated Bar of

the Philippines Card and other similar documents.

. For establishments with parking areas which are equipped
with automated ticketing machines, the presentation of the
identification documents of the senior citizen availing of the
free parking privilege shall be made to the parking attendant
in the booth for validation of the documents upon exit in the

establishment.

. Subject to the availability of the parking slot, the additional
privilege of free parking for senior citizens may be availed of
on any parking slot, of any level, if applicable, of the parking
area which is offered to the public on a first-come-first served

basis.

. The free parking privilege for senior citizens shall only apply

to the regular operating hours of the commercial or


government establishment where the privilege is sought. The

privilege herein granted shall not apply to overnight parking.

SEC. 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations and Standard
Forms. — Within sixty (60) days from the promulgation of this Act,
the implementing rules and regulations for the proper
implementation of its provisions shall be formulated by the
appropriate government office or agency in coordination with all the

stakeholders and covered establishments and institutions.

SEC. 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is
declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the validity of the

other provisions shall not be affected thereby.

SEC. 8 . Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules
and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.

Provided, that Section 4 of Republic Act No. 7432 as amended

by Republic Act No. 9257 and further amended by Republic Act No.


9994, otherwise known as the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of

2010” is hereby amended accordingly.

SEC. 9. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days

after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of

general circulation.

Approved,