DSWD supports move by congressmen to abolish senior citizen purchase booklet
The Department of Social Welfare and Development on Friday said it support the move by two congressmen for the abolition of the senior citizen’s purchase slip booklet following numerous complaints coming from the elderly.
“In previous years, the Department received various concerns and complaints through various means of communication, relative to the availment of senior citizen discounts. A total of 24 complaints were received in 2022 and 2023,” DSWD Assistant Secretary for Strategic Communications Romel Lopez said.
ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Erwin Tulfo, a former DSWD secretary, and Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo have moved for the abolition of the purchase slip booklet for Senior Citizens based on the initial findings of their congressional inquiry early this week.
“We support the position of Representatives Tulfo and Quimbo to do away with the Senior Citizen booklet,” DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian said the DSWD will take the lead in reaching out to the Department of Health and other concerned agencies to commence the operationalization of the booklet’s abolition.
The DSWD chief has directed the agency’s Program Management Bureau to make a study and recommendation regarding the Senior Citizen purchase slip booklet which has been the subject of a Congressional inquiry.
DSWD-PMB’s position paper dated February 1, 2024 recommended to Secretary Gatchalian the abolition of the purchase slip booklet as requirement for the purchase of medicines by Senior Citizens.
The DSWD-PMB recommended the adoption of digitized records for the Senior Citizens “considering the mobility and tendency to forget to bring their booklets and even read their content, it is no longer convenient on the part of senior citizens to use purchase slip booklets.”
“With the fast-paced technology and innovations, it is recommended to adopt an established system for monitoring, storing, and reporting data towards an efficient, consistent, and uniform implementation of the law and provisions for the availment of medicines, basic necessities, and prime commodities, among others,” the PMB said in its position paper.
The PMB maintained that in this digitalization, the concerned agencies such as the National Commission of Senior Citizens, Department of Information and Communication Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Health, Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Department of Justice and representation from non-government organizations, shall partner with members of the private sector offering services to senior citizens.
With the fast-paced technology and innovations, it is recommended to adopt an established system for monitoring, storing, and reporting data towards an efficient, consistent, and uniform implementation of the law and provisions for the availment of medicines, basic necessities, and prime commodities, among others