The House special committee on senior citizens on Thursday, May 27, gave its approval on the proposed laws to further expand the benefits of senior citizens in paying water and electricity bills.

House Bills No. 1903 and 3040 both seek to amend the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

HB 1093, filed by Baguio City Representative Mark Go, proposes an increase in the discount in public utility fees from the current five percent to 10 percent.

Meanwhile, HB 3040, pushed by Nueva Ecija Rep. Estelita Suansing and Sultan Kudarat Rep. Horacio Suansing Jr, seeks to expand the threshold of the five-percent discount to 150 kilowatt hour (kWh) of consumption, from the 100 kWh at present; and to 50 cubic meters, from 30 cubic meters currently.

It also pushes the exemption of senior citizens in the imposition of value-added tax (VAT) on utility fees.

Both bills maintained that the privilege shall apply regardless of the number of senior citizens in a household.

The proposals were welcomed by groups of senior citizens, with the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) saying these will "augment the disposable funds of seniors for other basic necessities."

Government agencies, however, expressed reservations about the bills.

The Department of Finance (DOF) particularly rejected the proposed VAT exemption, saying, among others, that it would be "inconsistent" with the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, which repealed previous tax exemptions.

"The DOF believes that exempting target individuals, such as seniors, erode the integrity and sustainability of the VAT system. We further believe that VAT exemption should be limited only to sectors with clear economic rationale, such as raw food, agriculture, health and education," DOF fiscal policy and planning director Rowena Sta. Clara told members of the House panel.

The VAT exemption and the discount, she raised, could also result in "substantial" government revenue loss of about P5.5 billion.

"The government, right now, cannot afford to lose significant amount of revenues that can be used to fund the economic recovery programs of the government," Sta. Clara stressed.

"The DOF believes that the best way to implement the inten provision of relief to senior citizens is to collect VAT and spend revenue and social services from which they will directly benefit," she added.

Lawyer Maria Adela Ching of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said that while their agency does not oppose the proposals, it could cause an "additional burden" to unqualified senior citizens and other consumers, as distribution utilities (DUs) charge the discounts from them.

The ERC has provided the formula which the DUs use to determine the rate to be collected from its customers to subsidize such benefit.

"Any increase in the discounts would result in the corresponding increase in the amount to be shouldered by consumers in general," Ching warned.

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) confimed this, saying the proposed House bills will increase the amount of subsidy needed for the discounts, and in effect, will cause the surge in monthly electricity bills.

"This will be collected from other end-users, the rest of the end-users of the distribution utility," said Meralco representative Roderick Nacu.

The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (PHILRECA) echoed the same position and further warned that the proposals could be abused to the disadvantage of other consumers.

Representatives of the water concessionaires Manila Water Company and Maynilad Water Services, meanwhile, said they support the intention of the House bills to care for senior citizens, but urged the committee to retain the current threshold of 30 cubic meter.

Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) said maintaining the threshold would "encourage responsible use of water for everybody", citing the country's limited water supply.

Despite the concerns, House committee chairperson and Senior Citizen Party-list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes still pushed the approval of the bill.

"Pinagkakaitan ng kaunting tulong ang ating mga seniors...Ako'y nalulungkot sapagkat konting biyaya na ating pinapaabot ay kanila pang pinagdadamot (They are denying our senior citizens the help that they need. I am sad that we are only proposing a small privilege for them, but the government is depriving it)," Ordanes lamented.

"Tatanda din kayo (You, too, will get old)," he said, echoing statements from resource persons.