State policy and objectives
- The State declares it is policy to promote a just and dynamic social order ensuring national prosperity and independence and freeing the people from poverty through adequate social services, full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life (Section 2).
- The Act declares constitutional anchors that the State shall provide social justice and guarantee the dignity of every human person and full respect for human rights (Section 2).
- The Act recognizes priorities for the needs of the underprivileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women and children in health and essential goods and services at affordable cost (Section 2).
- The Act sets out objectives that include recognizing the rights of senior citizens to take their proper place in society and making it a concern of the family, community, and government (Section 2).
- The Act aims to provide mechanisms to maximize senior citizens’ contributions, assist and appreciate senior citizens through the community, establish community-based health and rehabilitation programs in every political unit, and seek private sector partnership (Section 2).
- The Act includes an objective to provide a comprehensive health care and rehabilitation system for disabled senior citizens to foster their capacity for more meaningful and productive aging (Section 2).
Key definitions and covered persons
- A senior citizen or elderly is any resident citizen of the Philippines at least sixty (60) years old (Section 3).
- Geriatrics refers to the branch of medical science devoted to biological and physical changes and the diseases of old age (Section 3).
- A lodging establishment includes 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 (Section 3).
- Medical services cover hospital services, professional services of physicians and other health care professionals, and diagnostic and laboratory tests necessary for diagnosis or treatment (Section 3).
- Dental services cover 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 mandible necessary for diagnosis or treatment (Section 3).
- Nearest surviving relative refers to the legal spouse who survives a deceased senior citizen; if no spouse survives, it is limited in this order of degree of kinship: children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, uncles and aunts (Section 3).
- Home health care service is health or supportive care provided at home by licensed health care professionals, including physicians, nurses, midwives, physical therapists, and caregivers (Section 3).
- An indigent senior citizen is an elderly person who is frail, sickly, or with disability, without pension or permanent source or income, compensation, or financial assistance from relatives to support basic needs, as determined by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in consultation with the National Coordinating and Monitoring Board (Section 3).
Senior citizen privileges and proof
- Senior citizens are entitled to a twenty percent (20%) discount and exemption from the value-added tax (VAT), if applicable, on the sale of covered goods and services for their exclusive use and enjoyment or availment from all establishments (Section 4(a)).
- The 20% VAT-exempt discount applies specifically to:
- Medicines, including influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, and other essential medical supplies, accessories and equipment determined by the Department of Health (DOH) (Section 4(a)(1));
- Professional fees of attending physicians in all private hospitals, medical facilities, outpatient clinics and home health care services (Section 4(a)(2));
- Professional fees of licensed professional health workers providing home health care services endorsed by private hospitals or employed through home health care employment agencies (Section 4(a)(3));
- Medical and dental services, diagnostic and laboratory fees in private hospitals, medical facilities, outpatient clinics and home health care services under DOH rules and regulations coordinated with Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) (Section 4(a)(4));
- Actual fares for land transportation 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) (Section 4(a)(5));
- Actual transportation fare for domestic air transport services and sea shipping vessels and the like, based on actual fare and advanced booking (Section 4(a)(6));
- Hotel and similar lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation centers (Section 4(a)(7));
- Admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses and concert halls, circuses, carnivals, and other similar places of culture, leisure and amusement (Section 4(a)(8));
- Funeral and burial services for the death of senior citizens (Section 4(a)(9)).
- The DOH must establish guidelines and mechanisms of compulsory rebates in sharing the burden of discounts among retailers, manufacturers and distributors, considering their respective margins (Section 4(a)).
- Senior citizens are exempt from individual income taxes for senior citizens considered minimum wage earners under Republic Act No. 9504 (Section 4(b)).
- Senior citizens are entitled to a minimum five percent (5%) discount on the monthly utilization of water and electricity supplied by public utilities when:
- Individual meters are registered in the senior citizen’s name (Section 4(c));
- Monthly consumption does not exceed 100 kWh of electricity and 30 cubic meters (30 m³) of water (Section 4(c));
- The privilege is granted per household regardless of the number of senior citizens residing therein (Section 4(c)).
- Senior citizens are exempt from training fees for socioeconomic programs (Section 4(d)).
- Senior citizens are entitled to free medical and dental services, including diagnostic and laboratory fees such as x-rays, computerized tomography scans and blood tests, in all government facilities, subject to DOH guidelines coordinated with PhilHealth (Section 4(e)).
- The DOH administers free vaccination against the influenza virus and pneumococcal disease for indigent senior citizen patients (Section 4(f)).
- Senior citizens are entitled to educational assistance for post-secondary, tertiary, post tertiary, vocational and technical education, as well as short-term retooling courses through scholarships, grants, financial aids, subsidies and incentives to qualified senior citizens, including support for books, learning materials, and uniform allowance to the extent feasible, subject to minimum admission requirements (Section 4(g)).
- Senior citizens are entitled, to the extent practicable and feasible, to the continuance of the same benefits and privileges given by the GSIS, SSS and PAG-IBIG as enjoyed by those in actual service (Section 4(h)).
- Retirement benefits of retirees from both government and private sectors must be regularly reviewed to ensure responsiveness and sustainability, and, to the extent practicable and feasible, upgraded to be at par with the current scale enjoyed by those in actual service (Section 4(i)).
- The government may grant special discounts for senior citizens in special programs on purchase of basic commodities, subject to guidelines issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) (Section 4(j)).
- Commercial and government establishments must provide express lanes for senior citizens; in their absence, priority must be given to them (Section 4(k)).
- Upon the death of a senior citizen, a minimum death benefit assistance of PHP 2,000.00 must be given to the nearest surviving relative, subject to adjustments due to inflation under DSWD guidelines (Section 4(l)).
- To prove entitlement to privileges, a senior citizen or duly authorized representative may submit:
- An identification card issued by the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) where the senior citizen resides, which must be honored nationwide (Section 4);
- The senior citizen’s passport (Section 4);
- Other documents establishing citizenship and that the person is at least sixty (60) years of age, as further provided in the implementing rules and regulations (Section 4).
- If goods and services are on promotional discount, the senior citizen may avail of the promotional discount or the discount under the Act, whichever is higher (Section 4).
- Establishments may claim discounts under Section 4(a) and Section 4(c) as a tax deduction based on the cost of goods sold or services rendered, where:
- The cost of the discount is allowed as a deduction from gross income for the same taxable year the discount is granted (Section 4);
- The total claimed tax deduction, net of VAT if applicable, is included in gross sales receipts for tax purposes and is subject to proper documentation and the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), as amended (Section 4).
Government assistance programs
- The government must provide employment assistance for senior citizens who have capacity and desire to work or be re-employed, through information and matching services; employment terms must conform with the Labor Code and other applicable laws (Section 5(a)).
- Private entities employing senior citizens, upon effectivity of the Act, must be entitled to an additional gross income deduction equal to 15% of total salaries and wages paid to senior citizens, subject to Section 34 of the NIRC, as amended, when employment continues for at least six (6) months, and the senior citizen’s annual income does not exceed the latest poverty threshold determined by NSCB of NEDA for that year (Section 5(a)).
- DOLE, in coordination with other agencies including the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) and DTI, must assess, design and implement training programs providing skills and welfare or livelihood support for senior citizens (Section 5(a)).
- The Department of Education (DepED), TESDA, and CHED must institute programs ensuring access to formal and nonformal education for senior citizens, in consultation with NGOs and POs for senior citizens (Section 5(b)).
- DOH must, in coordination with LGUs, NGOs and POs, institute a national health program and provide an integrated health service for senior citizens, including training community-based health workers and health personnel to specialize in geriatric care and health problems (Section 5(c)).
- The national health program must be harmonized with the DOH National Prevention of Blindness Program (Section 5(c)).
- Every government hospital must establish a “senior citizens’ ward” for exclusive use of senior citizens needing hospital confinement due to health conditions; when urgency of public necessity or emergency purposes require, it may be used for emergencies and then reverted to its geriatric ward purpose (Section 5(c)).
- At least 50% discount must be granted on electricity, water, and telephone consumption by senior citizens centers and residential care/group homes that are government-run or non-stock, non-profit domestic corporations organized and operated primarily for the well-being of abandoned, neglected, unattached, or homeless senior citizens, subject to DSWD guidelines (Section 5(d)).
- DSWD, cooperating with OSCA and LGUs, NGOs and POs for senior citizens, must develop and implement social services programs with these components:
- Self and social enhancement services for socializing, organizing, creative expression, and self-improvement (Section 5(d)(1));
- After care and follow-up services for discharged seniors with reintegration problems, including counseling for both seniors and their families (Section 5(d)(2));
- Neighborhood support services where community or family members provide caregiving to frail, sick, or bedridden seniors (Section 5(d)(3));
- Substitute family care through residential care or group homes for abandoned, neglected, unattached, or homeless seniors and those incapable of self-care (Section 5(d)(4)).
- The national government must include special housing needs of senior citizens in its national shelter program, including establishment of housing units for the elderly (Section 5(e)).
- DOTC must develop a program to assist senior citizens to fully gain access to public transport facilities (Section 5(f)).
- Government must provide incentives for foster care for individual or nongovernmental institutions caring for or establishing homes, residential communities or retirement villages solely for senior citizens, including:
- Realty tax holiday for the first five (5) years starting from the first year of operation (Section 5(g)(1));
- Priority in construction or maintenance of provincial or municipal roads leading to the home, residential community or retirement village (Section 5(g)(2)).
- Indigent senior citizens are entitled to a monthly social pension of PHP 500.00, subject to review every two (2) years by Congress in consultation with DSWD (Section 5(h)(1)).
- All indigent senior citizens must be covered by PhilHealth; LGUs where indigent senior citizens reside must allocate necessary funds to ensure enrollment of their indigent senior citizens (Section 5(h)(2)).
- Social safety assistance intended to cushion economic shocks, disasters and calamities must be available to senior citizens, including food, medicines, and financial assistance for domicile repair, sourced from the disaster/calamity funds of the LGUs where the senior citizens reside, subject to DSWD guidelines (Section 5(h)(3)).
OSCA structure and functions
- OSCA must be established in all cities and municipalities and must be headed by a senior citizen appointed by the mayor for a term of three (3) years without reappointment, but with possible extension if exigency so requires (Section 6(a)).
- The OSCA head must be chosen from a list of three (3) nominees recommended by a general assembly of senior citizens organizations in the city or municipality (Section 6(a)).
- The OSCA head must serve the interest of senior citizens and must not be removed or replaced except for reasons of death, permanent disability, or ineffective performance of duties to the detriment of fellow senior citizens (Section 6(a)).
- The OSCA head must receive an honorarium at least equivalent to Salary Grade 10, subject to LGU approval (Section 6(a)).
- The OSCA head must be assisted by the City Social Welfare and Development Officer or the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer in coordination with the Social Welfare and Development Office (Section 6(a)).
- The Office of the Mayor exercises supervision over OSCA relative to plans, activities and programs for senior citizens; OSCA must work together and establish linkages with accredited NGOs, POs, and barangays in its area (Section 6(a)).
- OSCA functions include:
- Planning, implementing and monitoring yearly work programs in pursuance of the Act’s objectives (Section 6(b)(a));
- Drawing up a list of available and required services senior citizens can be provided (Section 6(b)(b));
- Maintaining and regularly updating, on a quarterly basis, the list of senior citizens and issuing national individual identification cards, free of charge, valid anywhere in the country (Section 6(b)(c));
- Acting as a general information and liaison center for senior citizens (Section 6(b)(d));
- Monitoring compliance with provisions of the Act, particularly special discounts and privileges (Section 6(b)(e));
- Reporting to the mayor any individual, establishments, business entity, institution or agency found violating the Act (Section 6(b)(f));
- Assisting senior citizens in filing complaints or charges against refusing persons or entities before the Department of Justice (DOJ), Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, regional or municipal trial courts, municipal trial courts in cities, or municipal circuit trial courts (Section 6(b)(g)).
Monitoring board, implementing rules, and appropriations
- A National Coordinating and Monitoring Board must be established, chaired by the Secretary of DSWD or an authorized representative, and Vice-Chaired by the Secretary of DILG or an authorized representative (Section 8(a)).
- The Board must include members consisting of the Secretary of DOJ, Secretary of DOH, Secretary of DTI (each with authorized representatives), and representatives from five (5) NGOs for senior citizens duly accredited by DSWD (Section 8(a)).
- NGO representatives on the Board must serve for three (3) years (Section 8(a)).
- The Board may call on other government agencies, NGOs and POs as resource persons as needed; resource persons have no right to vote (Section 8(b)).
- Within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of the Act, the Secretary of DSWD must formulate and adopt amendments to existing implementing rules for Republic Act No. 7432, as amended by Republic Act No. 9257, in consultation with specified agencies and five (5) NGOs or POs accredited by DSWD (Section 9(a)).
- The DOH must establish guidelines pursuant to Section 4(a)(i) within sixty (60) days from effectivity of the Act (Section 9(a)).
- OSCA operating and maintenance funds must be appropriated and approved by the concerned LGUs; for national government agencies, requirements must be included in their respective budgets (Section 10(a)).
- Funds for the national health program and vaccination of senior citizens in the first year of implementation must be added to the regular appropriations of DOH and thereafter provided as a line item under the DOH budget in subsequent General Appropriations Acts (GAA) (Section 10(a)).
- The monthly social pension for indigent senior citizens in the first year of implementation must be added to the regular appropriations of DSWD and thereafter provided as a line item under the DSWD budget in subsequent GAA (Section 10(a)).
Criminal penalties and enforcement consequences
- Any person who refuses to honor the senior citizen card issued by the government or violates any provision of the Act faces 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 PHP 50,000 but not exceeding PHP 100,000 (Section 7(a));
- 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 PHP 100,000 but not exceeding PHP 200,000 (Section 7(b));
- For abuse of privileges granted: imprisonment of not less than six (6) months and a fine of not less than PHP 50,000 but not more than PHP 100,000 (Section 7(c)).
- If the offender is a corporation, partnership, organizations or similar entity, the officials directly involved such as the president, general manager, managing partner, or other officer charged with management of business affairs are liable (Section 7).
- If the offender is an alien or a foreigner, the person must be deported immediately after service of sentence (Section 7).
- Upon filing of an appropriate complaint and after due notice and hearing, proper authorities may cancel or revoke business permit, permit to operate, franchise, and other similar privileges granted to any person, establishment or business entity that fails to abide by the Act (Section 7).
Repeal, separability, and effectivity rules
- All laws, executive orders, rules and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with Republic Act No. 9994 are deemed repealed or modified accordingly (Section 11).
- If any part or provision of the Act is declared unconstitutional and invalid, the declaration must not invalidate other parts that remain in full force and effect (Section 12).
- The Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after complete publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation, whichever comes earlier (Section 13).