Two committees of the House of Representatives have approved the consolidation of four resolutions that call for an investigation on the refusal of online merchants like food outlets to grant the discounts mandated by law to the elderly.
In a joint meeting, the House Special Committees on Senior Citizens chaired by Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes, the nominee of the party-list group Senior Citizens; and on Persons with Disability chaired by Negros Occidental Rep. Maria Lourdes Arroyo approved the consolidation of the resolutions that were filed due to mounting complaints that business establishments ceased giving discounts to seniors and persons with disabilities for online transactions, especially on food deliveries, during the pandemic.
Approved for consolidation and eventual adoption are House Resolution 1622 authored by Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera, calling for an investigation into the “malicious practice of food delivery applications of not applying the senior citizen and PWD discounts in transactions made through them”; HR 1626 also by Herrera, seeking an investigation into “the failure of food delivery applications to honor the senior citizens discount granted in accordance with Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010” and HRs 1450 and
1880 by Ordanes and Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas, urging the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), National Commission on Senior Citizens (NCSC), National Commission on Disability Affairs (NCDA), and other relevant government agencies to immediately draft and implement guidelines on the applicability of senior citizens and PWDs’ discounts and privileges on all online transactions.
Arroyo said before the pandemic, business establishments were already required to give discounts to senior citizens and PWDs. “However, nowadays even as the COVID-19 pandemic is still underway, it is unfortunate and atrocious that we hear of so many instances where the discounts that used to be given to seniors and PWDs for online or telephone transactions have been stopped.”
“The laws protecting seniors and PWDs are still in place,” Arroyo said.
Meanwhile, Rose Romero, Foodpanda Philippines Regulatory and Public Affairs Manager, said during the hearing that at present Foodpanda’s food platform technology is still facing limitations in terms of operationalizing the application of the discounts.
“As our colleague in Grab has mentioned, we have been participating in discussions led by (the) DSWD and DTI in the crafting of the guidelines that will lead to the resolution of the issues and challenges of application of senior citizens and PWDs’ discounts on the platform,” Romero said.