Purchase booklets for the elderly: City approves funds to reproduce booklets

To effectively implement an administrative order that provides discounts in the purchases of senior citizens, the city council has approved the disbursement of funds to reproduce purchase booklets that stipulate the guidelines of the privileges.

The city council approved P180,000 to defray the expenses in the reproduction of 10,000 purchase booklets for the effective implementation of Administrative Order No. 03 of the Department of Trade and Industry, which implements the mandate of the Republic Act 9257 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003.

Section 5 of the administrative order provides that the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs shall distribute purchase booklets to senior citizens who with to enjoy the special discount of five percent of the regular retail price of basic necessities and prime commodities.

However, Section 3 of the R.A. 9257 provides that the purchase "shall not exceed the amount of six hundred fifty pesos per calendar week without carryover of the unused amount."

These basic necessities include canned sardines and tuna; evaporated, condensed, and powdered filled milk; coffee; bread; white and brown sugar; cooking oil; instant noodles; luncheon meat; meat loaf; corned beef; frozen, refrigerated, preserved, ready-to-cook pork, beef and chicken; and powdered, liquid, bar, and detergent soap.

"The elderly has regularly and continuously demanded for the availment of the said privilege but in the absence of the required purchase booklet the aforesaid privilege cannot be extended to the senior citizens," the council said.

Section 4 of R.A. 9257 says that to avail of the privilege, a senior citizen must present his or her identification card issued by OSCA of the municipality of city where the senior citizen resides.

In the event that the retailer has reasonable doubt as to the identity of a senior citizen availing of the discount, the retailer may request the senior citizen to present any other government issued identification document, whether national or local.

The booklets will be available only to senior citizens with OSCA certification. - Joeberth M. Ocao