Privileges for the Senior Citizens

SEC. 4. Privileges for the Senior Citizens

Senior citizens shall be entitled to the following:

(a) a 20% discount and exemption from VAT on the sale of the following goods and services from all establishments, for the exclusive use of seniors:

1. The purchase of medicines

This includes:

• influenza and pnuemococcal vaccines
• 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. The professional fees of attending physician/s in all private hospitals, medical facilities, outpatient clinics and home health care services

3. 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. 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 PhilHealth;

5. The actual fare for land transportation in buses (PUBs), jeepneys (PUJs), taxis, AUVs, shuttle services, and LRT, MRT, PNR

6. Actual transportation fare for domestic air transport services and sea shipping vessels and the like, based on the actual fare and advanced booking

7. The utilization of services in hotels and similar lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation centers

8. Admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses and concert halls, circuses, leisure and amusement

9. Funeral and burial services for the death of senior citizens

(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) 5% percent discount relative to the monthly utilization of water and electricity supplied by the public utilities as long as:

• the individual meters for the foregoing utilities are registered in the name of the senior citizen residing therein
• the monthly consumption does not exceed one hundred kilowatt hours (100 kWh) of electricity and thirty cubic meters (30 m3) of water
• 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 and diagnostic and laboratory fees in government facilities, such as:

• x-rays
• computerized tomography scans
• blood tests

These are 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 seniors

(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;

(i) 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

(l) 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.cralaw

To avail the privileges above, the senior or his/her duly authorized representative, may submit the following as proof:

1. An ID issued by the Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA) where the senior resides as long as the ID card issued by the particular OSCA shall be honored nationwide

2. The passport of the senior

3. Other documents that establish that the senior citizen is a citizen of the Republic and is at least 60 years old

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 as long as the cost of the discount shall be allowed as deduction from gross income for the same taxable year that the discount is granted as long as 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.”