Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

af, 4705

HOUSE BILL NO._~*

INTRODUCED BY CONGRESSMAN ALFRED VARGAS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Senior citizens comprise nearly seven percent of the total Filipino population with their
number currently estimated at 6.263 million’. Itis predicted that over time, the percentage of the
elderly population in relation to the total population of the country might rise to 10%. Out of
these, only about a third of senior citizens receive pension: 18% receives a contributory pension
(SSS or GSIS) and only 15% benefit from the social pension program of the Department of Social
Welfare and Development’,

With inflation rates rising steadily every year, itis difficult for senior citizens to cope with
the demand of their day to day expenses, considering their retired status, low income, limited
pension source, or depleting funds. It is imperative, therefore, that the State gives additional
discounts to senior citizens especially on basic necessities like clothing, footwear, eyeglasses,
hearing aids, dental care, transportation, and similar products and services to enable them to
manage their finances more realistically.

Discounts for online transactions should also be given attention, since there are senior
citizens who prefer to purchase items online for convenience and cost-efficiency. It is appropriate,
therefore, to mandate all establishments, individuals, and corporations to provide discounts for
online transactions, subject to validation and authentication.

This bill focuses on the maintenance and welfare of senior citizens and how the State can
contribute to their total well-being. Thus, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

"RED VARGAS

* 2010 Census of Population and Housing

* Evangelista, Rafal, (2015) Time for senior citizens to fight for our rights Rappler. Available a: bitn://wwow.rapplex.com/mavs-ph/isp
eak/106840-ph-seniar-citizens-rights [28 October 2015]

= The Coston of the Services forthe Eder. (2015) Advocate clfor improved security pension for Pays Rapper. vale

huup.//anw.sappier.com/mave-p reflipino [29 June 2016),



Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4 4705

HOUSE BILL No._~ “

INTRODUCED BY CONGRESSMAN ALFRED VARGAS

ANACT
PROVIDING FOR THE MAINTENANCE AND WELFARE OF SENIOR CITIZENS, FURTHER
AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7432, AS AMENDED, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

Section 1, Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Maintenance and Welfare of Senior
Citizens Act of 2016."

Section 2. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 7432, as amended by Republic Act Nos. 9257 and
9944, otherwise known as the "Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003" and "Expanded Senior
Citizens Act of 2010", is hereby further amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 2. Definition of terms. - For purposes of this Act, these terms are defined as follows:

(a) Senior citizen or elderly refers to any resident citizen of the Philippines at least
sixty (60) years old;

“(b) Geriatrics refers to the branch of medical science devoted to the study of the
biological and physical changes and the disease of old age:

“(c) Lodging establishment refers to a building, edifice, structure, apartment or
house including tourist inn, apartelle, motorist hotel, and pension house engaged in
catering, leasing or providing facilities to transients, tourists, or travelers;

“(d) Medical Services refer to hospital services, professional services of physicians
and other health care professionals and diagnostics and laboratory tests that are necessary
for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness or injury;

“(e) Dental services to oral examination, cleaning, permanent and temporary filling,
extractions and gum treatments, restoration, replacement or repositioning of teeth, or
alteration of the alveolar or periodontium process of the maxilla and the mandible that are
necessary for the diagnostic or treatment of an illness or injury;

“(O Nearest surviving relative refers to the legal spouse who survives the deceased
senior citizen: Provided, that where no spouse survives the decedent, this shall be limited to


relatives in the following order of degree of kinshi
grandparents, grandchildren, uncles and aunts;

children, parents, siblings,

“(g) Home health care service refers to health or supportive care provided to the
senior citizen patient at home by licensed health care professionals to include, but not
limited to, physicians, nurses, midwives, physical therapist and caregivers; and

“(h) Indigent senior citizen, refers to any elderly who is frail, sickly or with
disability, and without pension or permanent source of income, compensation or financial
assistance from his/her relatives to support his/her basic needs, as determined by the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in consultation with the National
Coordinating and Monitoring Board.”

Section 3. Section 4 of Republic Act No. 7432, as amended by Republic Act Nos. 9257 and
9994, otherwise known as the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010”, is hereby further amended
to read as follows:

EC, 4. Privileges for the Senior Citizens. -

“The senior citizens shall be entitled to the followi

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

“(1) on the purchase of medicines, including the purchase of influenza and
pneumococcal 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 a 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 hospital,
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);

“(5) 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 Philippines National Railways (PNR);


“(6) in actual transportation fare for domestic AND INTERNATIONAL air
AND WATER transport services OF COMPANIES REGISTERED IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE LAWS OF THE PHILIPPINES OR OF COMPANIES DOING BUSINESS IN
THE PHILIPPINES 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 BANK TRANSACTION FEES WHICH INCLUDE BUT NOT LIMITED TO
‘THE FOLLOWING:

1) ISSUE OF DUPLICATE PASSBOOK/STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT;

11) ISSUE OF CHEQUE BOOK:
II) NOTING OF STANDING INSTRUCTIONS;
1V) STOP PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS;

V) ISSUE OF BALANCE CERTIFICATE;

Vf) SIGNATURE VERIFICATION; AND.

Vil) LEDGER FOLIO CHARGES.

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

“(10) on funeral and burial services for the death of senior citizens;

“(11) ON CLOTHES, FOOTWEAR AND OTHER CLOTHING APPAREL FOR THE
USE ONLY OF SENIOR CITIZENS; AND

“(12) ON PURCHASING OF EYEGLASSES, HEARING AIDS, AND OTHER
PRODUCTS AVAILED OF BY SENIOR CITIZENS DUE TO THE EFFECTS OF
INCREASING AGE,

(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;

(6) 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 (100kWh) of electricity and thirty cubic meters (30 m°) of water:
Provided, furthermore, that the privilege is granted per household regardless of the number
of senior citizens residing therein;

(d) 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
Philtealth;


(0 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 post-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,
subsidies and other incentives to qualified senior citizens, including support for books,
learning materials, and uniform allowances, to the extent feasible: Provide, 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;

(1) 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 current scale
enjoyed by those in actual servic

(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);

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

(1) death benefit assistance of a minimum of five thousand pesos (Php5,000.00) 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
theDSWD.

In 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; or

(2) the passport of the senior:

zen concerned; and OR

(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 CASE THE AVAILMENT OF THE SERVICES IN SECTION 4(A)(5),(6),(7),
AND (9) IS DONE THROUGH ONLINE TRANSACTIONS, ALL ESTABLISHMENTS
MANDATED TO PROVIDE THE DISCOUNTS SHALL ESTABLISH A MECHANISM THAT

5


12.

WILL APPLY THE SAME DISCOUNTS TO ONLINE TRANSACTIONS, SUBJECT TO THE
PRESENTATION OF ANY OF THE DOCUMENTS ENUMERATED ABOVE UPON
AVAILMENT OF SERVICES. THE DISCOUNTS SHALL BE APPLIED AUTOMATICALLY
UPON AVAILMENT OF THE SERVICES ONLINE AND THE AMOUNT OF THE
DISCOUNT SHALL BE SUBJECT TO PAYMENT UPON FAILURE OF THE SENIOR
CITIZENS TO PRESENT ANY OF THE DOCUMENTS ENUMERATED IN SECTION 4(L)
TO PROVE THEY ARE QUALIFIED TO SUCH DISCOUNTS. IN CASE THE SENIOR
CITIZEN DOES NOT WANT TO PAY THE AMOUNT OF THE DISCOUNT UPON
HIS/HER FAILURE TO SHOW ANY OF THE DOCUMENTS MENTIONED IN SECTION
4(L), HE/SHE IS ENTITLED TO THE REFUND OF THE AMOUNT HE/SHE PAID BUT
SHALL NOT BE ALLOWED TO AVAIL OF THE SERVICES.

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 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.”

Section 4. A new section 5 is added which shall read:

‘THE GOVERNMENT SHALL ENSURE THAT -

(A) THE GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS OR HOSPITALS FUNDED FULLY OR
PARTIALLY BY THE GOVERNMENT SHALL PROVIDE BEDS FOR ALL SENIOR
CITIZENS AS FAR AS POSSIBLE;

(B) SEPARATE QUEUES BE ARRANGED FOR SENIOR CITIZENS;

(C) FACILITY FOR TREATMENT OF CHRONIC, TERMINAL AND
DEGENERATIVE DISEASES IS EXPANDED FOR SENIOR CITIZENS;

(D) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES FOR CHRONIC ELDERLY DISEASE AND AGEING
ARE EXPANDED;

(E) THERE ARE EARMARKED FACILITIES FOR GERIATRIC PATIENTS IN
EVERY DISTRICT HOSPITAL DULY HEADED BY A MEDICAL OFFICER WITH
EXPERIENCE IN GERIATRIC CARE.

Section 5. Section 5, 6,7,8,9, and 11 shall be renumbered as Sections 6, 7,8, 9, 10, and



Section 6, Section 10 shall be renumbered as Section 11 and amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 11. Penalties. ~ (a) Any person who refuses to honor the senior citizen card
issued by this the government or violates any provision of this Act shall suffer the following
penalties:

“(@ For the first violation, imprisonment of not less than two (2) years but
not more than six(6) years and a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos
(PhpS0,000,00) but not exceeding One hundred thousand pesos (Php100,00.00);

“(ii) For any subsequent violation, imprisonment of not less than two (2)
years but not more than six (6) years and a fine of not less than One Hundred
thousand pesos (Php100,000.00) but not exceeding Two hundred thousand pesos
(Php200,000.00); and

“Giil) Any person who abuses the privileges granted herein shall be punished
with imprisonment of not less than six (6) months and a fine of not less than Fifty
thousandpesos (PhpS0, 000.00) but not more than One hundred thousand pesos
(Php 100, 000.00).

“If the offender is a corporation, partnership, organization or any similar entity, the
officials thereof directly involved such as the president, general manager, managing partner,

or such other officer charged with the management of the business affairs shall be liable
thereto.

“Ifthe offender is an alien or a foreigner, he/she shall be deported immediately after
service of sentence.

“Upon filing of an appropriate complaint, and after due notice and hearing, the
Proper authorities may also cause the cancellation or revocation of the business permit,
Permit to operate, franchise and other similar privileges granted to any person,
establishment or business entity that falls to abide by the provisions of this Act.”

“(B) WHOEVER, HAVING THE CARE AND PROTECTION OF A SENIOR CITIZEN
LEAVES SUCH SENIOR CITIZEN IN ANY PLACE WITH THE INTENTION OF WHOLLY
ABANDONING SUCH SENIOR CITIZEN, WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE SENIOR CITIZEN
WHO STILL HAS CONTROL OF HIS/HER MENTAL FACULTIES, SHALL BE PUNISHED BY THE
SAME PENALTY IMPOSED UNDER PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SECTION 10 OF THIS ACT.
‘THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL NOT APPLY WHEN CUSTODY OF A SENIOR CITIZEN IS MADE TO
‘A PUBLIC INSTITUTION SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED UNDER THE LAW OF TAKE CUSTODY.
OF HIM/HER AND THE PERSON HAVING HIS/HER CARE AND PROTECTION WILL NOT BE
ABLE TO FULLY TAKE CARE OF HIM/HER.

Section 7. Repealing Clause. - All law, executive orders, rules and regulations or any part
hereof inconsistent herewith are deemed repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 8. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act shall be declared
unconstitutional and invalid, such declaration shall not invalidate other parts thereto which small
remain in full force and effect.


Section 9. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days its complete publication in
the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspaper of general circulation, whichever comes earlier.

Approved,