Senior Citizens (File Photo)
A gas station operator in Cebu City admitted his error.
Station attendants should have let a senior citizen park his vehicle there for free.
A drug store was accused of denying a 20 percent discount for an elderly customer.
It turned out that the customer who tried to buy medicine forgot to state the generic name of the drug.
These complaints were heard yesterday in a conference in City Hall, where several business establishments were called to explain their side in alleged violations of Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.
“We have to have due process and hear both sides,” said City Attorney Jerome Castillo.
He said senior citizens or those aged 60 years old or more in Cebu City should complain if they are not given their due, especially when they avail of a 20 percent discount and exemption from the Value-Added Tax in a wide range of services: transportation (air, land, sea), movie houses, pharmacies, restaurants, hotels, doctor’s fees, and recreations centers, among others.
Castillo said letter complaints can be sent to the City’s Office of the Senior Citizens’ Affairs (OSCA).
“If ever proven that establishments refuse to give discounts for insufficient reasons, we can enforce sanctions which can include closure orders for the businesses,” Castillo warned.
Edgardo Bahena wrote last month to complain after a parking fee was collected from him by the Carland Caltex Service Station in N. Bacalso Ave. corner Urgello St. last Feb. 11.
“I head from a reliable source that senior citizens are exempted from paying parking from private establishments,” Bahena wrote.
He was right. A 2012 Cebu City Ordinance gives senior citizens and persons with disabilities free parking space in commercial establishments.
In yesterday’s meeting, the gas station representative admitted their error and said there was a “miscommunication” among their staff.
Bahena didn’t demand a refund or press charges. He just didn’t want it to be experienced by other senior citizens, Castillo said.
“For Caltex, we just told them to be stricter in implementing the law starting now. If they repeat the mistake, the city will be very strict and we can impose a closure order against them,” Castillo added.
On the other hand, Rose Pharmacy was cleared of the allegation that it had unlawfully refused to honor a 20 percent discount of an elderly customer.
Castillo reminded senior citizens to be mindful of guidelines to avail of the discount.
In the case of 75-year-old Flaviano Sanson, his doctor’s prescription didn’t state the generic name of the drug he wanted to buy.
“Why would I choose the generic when I want the branded medicine?” Sanson said.
Under implementing rules of RA 9994 and the Food and Drug Administration, the prescription should state the generic name of the drug.
“We just need the generic name in the doctor’s prescription and then we offer them different brands to choose from. It doesn’t mean that we’ll only give them the generic medicine,” said Florabel Zagado, a pharmacist of a Rose Pharmacy branch.
Zagado, a pharmacist for 16 years, said these guidelines are posted in their premises and that staff are briefed about it.
“We will always cater to senior citizens. But I think they also have to be educated that the generic name of the drug is needed as well as the other guidelines,” Zagado explained.
The pharmacy’s management invoked Administrative Order No. 2010-0032 of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the implementation guidelines of RA 9994.
“A [doctor’s] prescription should have the following information: name, age, sex, and address of the Senior Citizen, as well as the date, generic name of the medicine, dosage form, dosage strength, quantity, name and signature, address of the prescribing physician, professional license, and narcotic license or S2 number, if applicable,” the order read.
A lawyer complained to OSCAR head Rolando Llaguno last April 15 after her elderly mother was denied a 20 percent discount at the Platinum Nail and Spa in barangay Mabolo.
Lawyer Maria Lourdes Bragat- Quilitorio said the receptionist refused upfront to give a discount.
“Being a lawyer and being familiar with said law, especially that I was formerly connected with the Commission on Human Rights, I calmly told her that this is a violation (of the law),” she said.
But during the meeting yesterday, representatives from the spa’s management said “wellness services” aren’t covered under the senior citizen’s law.
“They contested it based on the implementing rules and regulations of the law, that wellness is not included,” Castillo said.
He said any disagreement over the interpretation of the law, establishments may be brought to the Department of Trade and Industry or the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Another conference is set on Monday for a complaint against another pharmacy chain and a restaurant.
“We have to have due process and hear both sides. Just like what happened with Rose Pharmacy, it turned out that they were just following the guidelines,” Castillo clarified.