REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7432 - AN ACT TO
MAXIMIZE THE CONTRIBUTION OF SENIOR CITIZENS TO NATION BUILDING, GRANT
BENEFITS AND SPECIAL PRIVILEGES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Section 1. Declaration of Policies and Objectives. — Pursuant
to Article XV, Sec. 4 of the Constitution, it is the duty of the
family to take care of its elderly members while the State may design
programs of social security for them. In addition to his, Section 10 in
the Declaration of Principles and State Policies provides: "The State
shall provide social justice in all phases of national development."
Further, Article XIII, Section 11 provides: "The State shall adopt an
integrated and comprehensive approach to health development which shall
endeavor to make essential goods, health and other social services
available to all the people at affordable cost. There shall be priority
for the needs of the underprivileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women
and children." Consonant with these constitutional principles the
following are the declared policies of this Act:
a) to motivate and encourage the senior citizens to
contribute to nation building;
b) to encourage their families and the communities
they live with to reaffirm the valued Filipino tradition of caring for
the senior citizens.
In accordance with those policies, this Act aims to:
1) establish mechanisms whereby the contribution of
the senior citizens are maximized;
2) adopt measures whereby our senior citizens are
assisted and appreciated by the community as a whole;
3) establish a program beneficial to the senior
citizens, their families and the rest of the community that they
serve.
Sec. 2. Definition of Terms. — As used in this
Act, the term "senior citizen" shall mean any resident citizen of the
Philippines at least sixty (60) years old, including those who have
retired from both government offices and private enterprises, and has
an income of not more than Sixty thousand pesos (P60,000.00) per annum
subject to review by the National Economic and Development Authority
(NEDA) every three (3) years.
The term "benefactor" shall mean any person whether related to the
senior citizens or not who takes care of him/her as a dependent.
The term "head of the family" shall mean any person so defined in the
National Internal Revenue Code.
Sec. 3. Contribution to the Community. — Any
qualified senior citizen as determined by the Office for Senior Citizen
Affairs (OSCA) may render his/her services to the community which shall
consist of, but not limited to, any of the following:
a) tutorial and/or consultancy services;
b) actual teaching and demonstration of hobbies and
income generating skills;
c) lectures on specialized fields like agriculture,
health, environmental protection and the like;
d) the transfer of new skills acquired by virtue of
their training mentioned in Sec. 4, paragraph d;
e) undertaking other appropriate services as
determined by the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) such as
school traffic guide, tourist aid, pre-school assistant, etc.
In consideration of the services rendered by the qualified elderly, the
Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) may award or grant benefits
or privileges to the elderly, in addition to the other privileges
provided for under Sec. 4 hereof.
Sec. 4. Privileges for the Senior Citizens. — The
senior citizens shall be entitled to the following:
a) the grant of twenty percent (20%) discount from
all establishments relative to utilization of transportation services,
hotels and similar lodging establishment, restaurants and recreation
centers and purchase of medicine anywhere in the country: provided,
that private establishments may claim the cost as tax credit;
b) a minimum of twenty percent (20%) discount on
admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses and concert halls,
circuses, carnivals and other similar places of culture, leisure, and
amusement;
c) exemption from the payment of individual income
taxes: provided, that their annual taxable income does not exceed the
property level as determined by the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA) for that year;
d) exemption form training fees for socioeconomic
programs undertaken by the OSCA as part of its work;
e) free medical and dental services in government
establishment anywhere in the country, subject to guidelines to be
issued by the Department of Health, the Government Service Insurance
System and the Social Security System;
f) to the extent practicable and feasible, the
continuance of the same benefits and privileges given by the Government
Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS) and
PAG-IBIG, as the case may be, as are enjoyed by those in actual
service.
Sec. 5. Government Assistance. — The Government
shall provide the following assistance to those caring for and living
with the senior citizen:
a) The senior shall be treated as dependents provided
for in the National Internal Revenue Code and as such, individual
taxpayers caring for them, be they relatives or not shall be accorded
the privileges granted by the Code insofar as having dependents are
concerned.
b) Individuals or non-governmental institutions
establishing homes, residential communities or retirement villages
solely for the senior citizens shall be accorded the following:
1) realty tax holiday for the first five (5) years
starting from the first year of operation;
2) priority in the building and/or maintenance of
provincial or municipal roads leading to the aforesaid home,
residential community or retirement village.
Sec. 6. Retirement Benefits. — To the extent
practicable and feasible, retirement benefits from both the Government
and the private sectors shall be upgraded to be at par with the current
scale enjoyed by those in actual service.
Sec. 7. The Office for Senior Citizens Affairs
(OSCA). — There shall be established in the Office of the Mayor an OSCA
to be headed by a Councilor who shall be designated by the Sangguniang
Bayan and assisted by the Community Development Officer in coordination
with the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The functions of
this office are:
a) to plan, implement and monitor yearly work
programs in pursuance of the objectives of this Act;
b) to draw up a list of available and required
services which can be provided by the senior citizens;
c) to maintain and regularly update on a quarterly
basis the list of senior citizens and to issue nationally uniform
individual identification cards which shall be valid anywhere in the
country;
d) to service as a general information and liaison
center to serve the needs of the senior citizens.
Sec. 8. Municipality Responsibility. — It shall be
the responsibility of the municipality through the mayor to ensure that
the provisions of this Act are implemented to its fullest.
Sec. 9. Penalties. — Violation of any provision of
this Act for which no penalty is specifically provided under any other
law, shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding one (1) month or a
fine not exceeding One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) or both.
SECTION 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The
Secretary of Social Welfare and Development, jointly with the
Department of Finance, the Department of Tourism, the Department of
Health, the Department of Transportation and Communications and the
Department of Interior and Local Government shall issue the necessary
rules and regulations to carry out the objectives of this Act.
SECTION 11. Appropriation. — The necessary
appropriation for the operation and maintenance of the OSCA shall be
appropriated and approved by the local government units concerned. The
National Government shall appropriate such amount, as may be necessary
to carry out the objectives of this Act.
SECTION 12. Repealing Clause. — All provisions of
laws, orders, decrees, including rules and regulations inconsistent
herewith are hereby repealed and/or modified accordingly.
SECTION 13. Separability Clause. — If any part or
provision of this Act shall be held to be unconstitutional or invalid,
other provisions hereof which are not affected thereby shall continue
to be in full force and effect.
SECTION 14. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect
fifteen (15) days following its publication in one (1) national
newspaper of general circulation.
Approved: April 23, 1992
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