AN ACT ESTABLISHING A SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER IN ALL CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES OF THE PHILIPPINES, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR.
  

Section 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Senior Citizens Center Act of the Philippines."

Sec.  2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the declared policy of the State to provide adequate social services and an improved quality of life for all. For this purpose, the State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach towards health development giving priority to elderly among others.chan robles virtual law library

Sec.  3. Definition of Terms. — (a) "Senior citizens," as used in this Act, shall refer to any person who is at least sixty (60) years of age.

(b) "Center," as used in this Act, refers to the place established by this Act with recreational, educational, health and social programs and facilities designed for the full enjoyment and benefit of the senior citizens in the city or municipality.

Sec.  4. Establishment of Centers. — There is hereby established a senior citizens center, hereinafter referred to as the Center, in every city and municipality of the Philippines, under direct supervision of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, hereinafter referred to as the Department, in collaboration with the local government unit concerned.

Sec.  5. Functions of the Centers. — The centers are extensions of the fourteen (14) regional offices of the Department. They shall carry out the following functions:

Sec.  7. Qualification/Disqualification. — A senior citizen who suffers from a contagious disease, or who is mentally unfit or unsound or whose actuations are inimical to other senior citizens as determined by the DSWD on the basis of an appropriate certification by a qualified government or private volunteer physician, may be denied the benefits provided in the Center. However, the center shall refer the senior citizen concerned to the appropriate government agency for the needed medical care or confinement.

Sec.  8. Exemptions of the Center. — The Center shall be exempted from the payment of customs duties, taxes and tariffs on the importation of equipment and supplies used actually, directly and exclusively by the Center pursuant to this Act, including those donated to the Center.

Sec.  9. Rules and Regulations. — Withinsixty (60) days from the approval of this Act, the DSWD, in coordination with other government agencies concerned, shall issue the rules and regulations to effectively implement the provisions of this Act. Any violation of this section shall render the concerned official(s) liable under Republic Act No. 6713, otherwise known as the "Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees" and other existing administrative and/or criminal laws.

Sec.  10. Coordination of Government Agencies. — The DSWD, in coordination with the Department of Health and other government agencies and local government units, shall assist in the effective implementation of this Act and provide the necessary support services.

Sec.  11. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law and every year thereafter.

The sum necessary for the continuous operation of the centers shall be subsidized in part by the DSWD and in part by the local government units concerned.

Sec.  12. Repealing or Amending Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, and rules and regulations, which are not consistent with this Act, are hereby modified, amended or repealed accordingly.chan robles virtual law library

Sec.  13. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.