MANILA - Some lawmakers urged the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on Tuesday to grant number coding scheme exemptions to senior citizens, after learning that the MMDA extends this privilege to eligible persons with disability.
 
During an inquiry of the House Committee on Ways and Means, joint with the House Committees on Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities, MMDA’s Atty. Joseph Salud told the panel that coding privileges only apply to PWDs whose application for exemption was approved by the agency’s chairman.
 
“There is exemption to PWDs, subject to application and approval by the chair… There is no similar exemptions on senior citizens,” Salud said.
 
“Kailangan namin ‘yun eh. Kasi kung minsan itinatakbo ka sa ospital o magpapa-check up ka, ‘yun lang ang sasakyan mo, kaya sabi ko kay Chairman Artes, as long as may nakasakay na senior citizen sa sasakyan, kung pwedeng color coding exempt na lang,” United Senior Citizens Party List Representative Milagros Aquino-Magsaysay said.
 
“Ilan lang naman sila eh… The committee requests if the same privileges may be afforded to senior citizens,” House Committee on Ways and Means chair Representative Joey Salceda added.
 
“That’s noted your honor,” Salud replied.

MMDA Acting Chairman Romando Artes, in a message to ABS-CBN News, said giving exemption will “diminish” the efficiency of roads, but also noted that the MMDA will defer to the wisdom of Congress.
 
“We have cars way beyond the carrying capacity of the roads. Any exemption will definitely diminish its efficiency. But we will defer to the wisdom of Congress,” he said.
 
Salceda, meanwhile, reminded establishments that senior citizens and PWDs are entitled to a discount in parking fees.
 
“It is the ruling of the chair that parking subject to discount… A franchise to build parking spaces, considering it is a public service, part of transport, subject to regulation,” he said.
 
“If you are given discounts in a public bus, you should be given discounts in a parking space, because that is the law, and the law has not yet been amended,” Salceda added.
 
More congressmen are pushing to increase the P1,300 cap on the amount of weekly grocery purchases that are subject to senior citizen or PWD discount. KABAYAN Party List Rep. Ron Salo said this limit was imposed by a mere joint administrative order, and does not require a law to be adjusted.
 
“Hindi natin kailangan ng batas para lang ayusin nila nag administrative order… make sure the administrative order is consistent with the intent of the law… even now pwede nilang baguhin ‘yun to increase that particular amount,” he stressed.
 
“Seniors and PWDs are currently getting a far too modest discount of P65 on their weekly groceries. We need to increase this. This amount is no longer appropriate in the current economic climate, given the high cost of living,” House Speaker Martin Romualdez said in a statement.
 
Amid such calls, the Philippine Retailers Association urged lawmakers to clarify in the bill being crafted that senior citizen and PWD discounts are “tax deductible”.
 
“There are merchants, there are business operations that are hardly making 20% margin, hindi pa profit, so kung ibibigay niya ‘yun sa senior citizen, wala na silang tutubuin. They continue their downward spiral,” PRA President Bobby Claudio told the joint panel.
 
“The discounts are tax deductible… Of course you did not receive the revenue, therefore it’s not taxable,” Salceda replied.
 
A group of drug stores also raised concerns on the proposal to remove the purchase booklet as a requirement for availing senior and PWD discounts on medicines.
 
“Bumibili, umiinom ang senior ng naka-reseta… Ito ang basis namin ng control kung kailangan na bumalik ang senior citizen sa doctor. Kung hindi natin ito ma-kontrol, tuloy-tuloy na bibili ang senior citizen e hindi na niya kailangan ng gamot,” Drugstore Association of the Philippines’ Vicente Briones said.
 
The National Commission for Senior Citizens proposed that instead of a booklet, a national database system could be set up for monitoring the discounts on medicines and grocery items purchased by individuals belonging to the sector.