Expanded discount for senior citizens approved

THE House Special Committee on Senior Citizens has approved bills that will expand the provision of a 20 percent discount and exemption from value-added tax to senior citizens to include medicines, dietary supplements, vitamins, herbal products and formulated milk that have been properly prescribed or recommended by physicians.

House Bills 362 and 5425, authored by OFW party-list Rep. Marissa Magsino and Manila First District Rep. Ernesto Dionisio Jr., respectively, were approved by the House committee and will be consolidated.

Magsino welcomed the committee's decision and said that her bill will benefit many senior citizens who are forced to fend for themselves with their little life savings and pensions, which are largely used for personal expenses and medical needs, and the most disadvantaged have become street dwellers, begging for a living.

She said that the Constitution requires both the family and the government to care for elderly members through social programs. In response to this constitutional directive, Congress passed Republic Act 7432, or the "Senior Citizens Act," which was later revised by RA 9257 and RA 9994, or the "Expanded Senior Citizens Acts of 2003 and 2010," respectively.

Senior citizens are offered a 20 percent discount on certain products and services, such as medicines, as well as a 12 percent value-added tax exemption under this succession of laws.

Yet, these laws failed to provide for a definition of the term "medicines, which would identify specifics of their coverage, thus allowing many business establishments the leeway to determine which types of medicines are subject to the discount, and in many instances deny the grant of the privilege," Magsino said during her sponsorship speech.

"Moreover, the present laws do not include supplements and vitamins, formulated milk and other similar products that have proven important, especially during the pandemic, in maintaining the well-being of senior citizens," she added. House Bill 362 proposes defining "medicines" as drugs, both prescription and nonprescription, generic and branded, duly prescribed by physicians and approved by the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, to be used in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of illness.

The bill intends to include dietary supplements, herbal products and formulated milk that have been officially prescribed by physicians, approved by the DoH and utilized in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease.

"The amount of care that a society extends to its elderly members is a measure of the humaneness that particular society possesses. We Filipinos are known for our culture of cherishing and personally taking care of our elderly. Let us keep that distinction and pride alive," Magsino said. (ManilaTimes.net)

Maharlika to have 6 to 11% yield in 10 years

by Louise Maureen siMeon, PaoLo roMero Philstar.com

MANILA — The Senate committee on banks and financial institutions wrapped up on Monday, February 27 its hearings on the proposal to put up a Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) that economic managers said can have an average yield of anywhere between six percent and 11 percent in 10 years.

Committee chairman Sen. Mark Villar said the panel will convene its technical working group to consolidate all inputs received in the three hearings even as senators indicated the Senate version of the MIF bill will have marked differences from the counterpart measure passed by the House of Representatives last December.

Upon questioning by senators, National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon gave initial estimates on the possible returns from the MIF, which is proposed to secure its seed fund from the Land Bank of the Philippines at P50 billion, P25 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), P17 billion from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and still undetermined contributions from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., royalties and special assessments on natural resources and privatization.

She said the MIF may be placed in private equity infrastructure or in the capital markets or both. If the fund – estimated to be initially at P150 billion to P200 billion – were invested in the capital market, it would have a 10-year average return of 6.51 percent.

“So that is of course higher than the important target inflation of two to four percent and even higher than our 10-year average GS (government securities) yield of 4.7 percent, indicating that it is a better return than the traditional conservative investment option,” De Leon said. If placed in other sectors like power, real estate, infrastructure and logistics, the 10-year average return would be a 10.78 percent, she said.

“Of course, we’d like to diversify the portfolio… this would be a more realistic allocation strategy and on a 50-50 allocation between the major sub funds, 8.64 percent per year on average, which is also double the four percent upper bound of the long-term inflation target and more than two percent above the most recent yield,” she said.