Arroyo too busy to sign senior citizens act

(Updated 8:47 p.m.) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will sign the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 once she finds time for it in her busy schedule, a Malacañang official said on Sunday. Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said President Arroyo has been very busy these days with her Super Region communications campaign in addition to her day to day governance work. “Ang pagkaalam ko, itong paglagada ni Pangulo sa Expanded Senior Citizens Act, ito ay naghihintay na lang ng pagluwang sa schedule niya sapagkat alam naman natin na napaka-busy ng Pangulo ngayon lalong-lalo na at ginagawa niya yung kanyang mga legacy tour ng Super Region bukod pa sa kanyang mga pang araw-araw na tungkulin sa panunungkulan," he said. (President Arroyo will sign the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 once her busy schedule loosens up. At present she is busy with her Super Region tour as well as her day to day duties as president.) 20% discount The measure will allow senior citizens to enjoy the full 20 percent discount on the purchase of essential goods and services accorded to them by law. The 20 percent discount was mandated by Republic Act (RA) 7431, which was enacted in 1992, and later expanded via RA 9257 in 2004. RA 9331 or the new VAT law of 2005, however, effectively trimmed the discount to just 8 percent when it raised the tax rate to 12 percent, leading to complaints which legislators said would be rectified once the new law takes effect. Olivar stressed that President Arroyo, who is a senior citizen herself at 62, is committed to signing the bill regardless of calls to reconsider especially with its possible impact on the country's revenues. Rest assured The Department of Finance warned that the exemption of senior citizens from the 12 percent Value Added Tax, as mentioned in the expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, could result in a revenue loss of about P1.6 billion. “Maasahan naman ng ating mga seniors na nagbitaw naman si Pangulo, nagbitaw ng pahayag sa Cebu at ito ay lumabas na sa dyaryo, na pipirmahan nya ang batas na ito. So hindi na dapat mag-alala ang mga senior citizens tungkol sa bagay na iyan," he said. (Senior citizens should not worry. President Arroyo will keep her promise, which has been reported in the newspapers, that she will sign the measure.) Olivar, however, said he is not certain if the enrolled bill has already been submitted to Malacañang. He said he is banking on the statement of House Speaker Prospero Nograles that Congress would send it to the President in time for Valentine's Day. The Bicameral Conference Committee approved the bill last Jan. 22. Super Regions President Arroyo began her Legacy Tour two weeks ago with a swing across the Cyber Corridor Super Region, which government seeks to turn into ideal investment destinations for information communication and technology (ICT) and business process outsourcing (BPO). Super Regions are informal groupings of provinces and regions with identical economic strength hence, assigned specific development themes. On Tuesday, President Arroyo will head for Mindanao for a tour of the Agribusiness Mindanao region for the third leg of her Super Regions evaluation. She will inspect government projects in these areas as part of her Legacy Tour of accomplishments. The Agribusiness Mindanao area covers Regions 9 to 12, CARAGA except Siargao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Last week, President Arroyo toured the Urban Luzon Beltway (ULB), which government aims to turn into a logistics and services center in the Asia-Pacific region. The ULB seeks to account for over 30 percent of the estimate $3.5-trillion global logistic market. Other bills Aside from the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, Malacañang is also waiting for the Philippine Coast Guard Act and the Maritime Industry Act. The PCG Act states that the Coast Guard would be placed under the Departments of Transportation and Communication but would be tapped and overseen by either the Department of National Defense or Interior and Local Government in times of war. The Maritime Industry Act, meanwhile, seeks reforms to ensure the improvement and safety in the maritime industry. - KBK, GMANews.TV