Dumaguete City (CNN Philippines) — Some local pharmacy owners aired their grievances on what they said is the “unfair” implementation of Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizen’s Act of 2010.
Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) President Ed Du represented the group that spoke with the Dumaguete City Council on Thursday (January 28).
He said that in his dialogue with the local pharmaceutical owners in Dumaguete City, it was reported that most senior citizens chose to buy their medicines in small pharmacies due to fewer customers and shorter lines, allowing them to be served right away.
He said this practice means local stores are now absorbing the biggest bulk of discounts on senior citizens, affecting their income from sales.
This problem does not affect much of the national chains of pharmaceutical companies because they have bigger investments, Du explained.
RA 9994 automatically gives senior citizens a 20 percent discount for medicines and deducts the 12 percent Value Added Tax (VAT). All in all, it gives a 32 percent discount that is far beyond the usual five percent increase in the prices of the medicine, Du stressed.
Du also lamented that aside from the discount, some senior citizens are filing charges against some establishments due to alleged malpractices, further adding to their operation expenses.
Dumaguete City has almost 15,000 registered senior citizens covered by the Expanded Senior Citizen’s Act.
Du said “this problem is bigger than we thought,” adding it would turn out to be a problem of the whole industry.
The NOCCI, with the help of the city council, is now calling on Congress to look into the bill. It also requested lawmakers to probably make an amendment on RA 9994 which would be beneficial to both parties, Du added.
