Some senators were elated with the Department of Health’s (DOH) latest directive to relieve senior citizens of the need to present their purchase slip booklets to avail themselves of the discount on medicines.

Sen. Loren Legarda welcomed the directive saying this would also enhance the enforcement of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

"Very good! Malaking tulong sa mga lola at lolo at mga (This is a huge breakthrough for our grandfathers and grandmothers and to all) indigent senior citizens para sa maayos na pag papatupad ng batas (for the proper implementation of the law),” Legarda said.

Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. also welcomed Health Secretary Ted Herbosa’s issuance of Administrative Order 2024-0017, removing the requirement for seniors to present the purchase booklet to drugstores in order to avail of a 20-percent discount.

”Maganda itong ginawa ni (This is a good move by) Sec. Herbosa. This is a welcome development. Bawas intindihin para sa ating mga seniors (Its less trouble for our senior citizens),” Revilla said.

“Liban na kailangan pa nila sadyain ang pagkuha ng mga booklets, minsan kasi nakakalimutan dalahin or nami-misplace kaya hindi nila minsan napapakinabangan yung discount (In addition to the fact that they still have to take the booklets on purpose, sometimes they forget to bring them or misplace them so they sometimes fail to take advantage of the discount),” he pointed out.

“Because of this (directive), our seniors can more easily avail of the benefits due them under the law,” he said.

In issuing AO 2024-0017, Herbosa said the DOH recognizes that requiring senior citizens to present purchase booklets during every transaction to avail of the 20 percent discount in the purchase of medicines “results in undue burden and difficulties,”

According to the DOH, the revised policy will benefit more than 9.2 million Filipino senior citizens in the country.