Senator Sonny Angara (Senate PRIB)

With recent talks of establishments not following the legally mandated senior citizen’s discount, how does the law play a role in the discount’s computation?

Under Republic Act (RA) No. 7432, it seeks to maximize the contribution of senior citizens to nation-building by its mandate of providing care to the country’s elderly members.

This law would provide a 20 percent discount from “all establishments relative to utilization of transportation services, hotels and similar lodging establishments, restaurants, and recreation centers and purchase medicine anywhere in the country”.

It also grants a 20 percent discount on admission fees in places of leisure, culture, and amusement, namely theaters, cinema houses, concert halls, and amusement parks.

The law was Introduced by the late former senator Edgardo Angara in 1992. His son, Senator Sonny Angara, would later author another discount law aimed at senior citizens.

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The younger Angara’s RA No. 9994 amended RA No. 7432, further expanding on the benefits and privileges.

The law specifically removes the value-added tax (VAT) from the bill of actual consumption by a senior citizen.

With these discounts, if a senior citizen purchased a product worth P1,000. The VAT removal would total it down to P892, and deducting the 20 percent discount would then equate to P714.29.