Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
The much-awaited increase in weekly price discounts from P65 to P125 for senior citizens and persons with disabilities’ (PWDs) purchases of basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs) is expected to take effect on Monday, March 25, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced.
In a press conference on Thursday, March 21, DTI Assistant Secretary Amanda Nograles of the Consumer Protection Group (CPG) said they intend to publish the revised Joint Administrative Order (JAO), which contains the amended discount, on Monday. The JAO will be effective upon publication.
The revised JAO was crafted by the DTI, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Energy (DOE).
DTI Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual signed the JAO prior to the press conference, noting that the heads of the DA and DOE have also already affixed their signatures to the document.
Nograles highlighted the main points that were changed to clarify the JAO during the press briefing.
P125 weekly discount
Compared to the previous P65 weekly discount afforded to seniors and PWDs, the new JAO mandates the increase in the weekly five percent discount to P125.
This means that eligible consumers are now able to receive five percent discounts for a total purchase value of P2,500 per week, from the five percent of P1,300.
Nograles clarified that consumers do not need to purchase P2,500 worth of goods to avail of the discount, but seniors and PWDs must buy at least four varied items listed as BNPCs.
The whole P125 discount cannot be availed for a single session of purchasing, for a single day, or for a single type of item.
This limitation is enforced in order to monitor that the purchases are really for personal use, she added.
However, the remaining discount, if not used completely, cannot be carried over the following week.
The five percent discount is separate from the 20 percent statutory discount under Republic Act No. 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 and Republic Act No. 10754 or An Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of PWDs.
Authorization letters valid for only seven days
Seniors and PWDs who purchase the BNPCs themselves are required to show their senior citizen ID, PWD ID or any valid government ID with proof of age and purchase booklets to the cashier during payment.
If seniors and PWDs cannot be present during the purchase, representatives are allowed to avail of the discount, provided they have the beneficiary’s ID and purchase booklet, along with their own ID and an authorization letter.
The JAO now states that an authorization letter is only valid for up to seven days. A new letter must be made if it expires, following complaints from retailers of customers using years-old letters.
Seniors, PWD discounts honored for online purchases
Nograles said that the discounts for seniors and PWDs must be honored for online transactions, “in recognition of the current practice of beneficiaries buying online.”
According to the JAO, seniors and PWDs’ purchase booklets are now allowed in online form for online grocery transactions. It is also subject to further regulations or issuances in case the booklet may be scrapped.
The DTI is leaving the actual method of implementation of the verification of IDs and purchase booklets to the establishments.
However, Nograles noted that the general method is presentation of a digital version of the buyer’s ID upon purchase in the online store and upon delivery.
BMBEs or coops exempted from giving discounts
The JAO now states that barangay micro business enterprises (BMBEs) like sari-sari stores, shops or stalls run by cooperatives and other small businesses selling BNPCs are not required to give the five percent discount.
Nograles explained that BNPCs in these stores usually offer lower prices compared to groceries, which leaves consumers with options to buy their goods.
Discounts apply mostly to locally manufactured products
Finally, Nograles said the JAO has clarified the definition of terms, particularly noting that items to be discounted are “locally manufactured or produced,” excluding imported speciality items. For example, “all kinds of locally produced breads” can be discounted, but cakes and pastries are not included.
The specification for local products was made since they are widely available in the market for consumers, compared to exported goods which are generally premium products that are bought “by those who don’t need the discounts,” she noted.
DA Associate Secretary for Legislative Affairs and Consumer Affairs Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra, meanwhile, said that all kinds or variants of rice, whether local or imported, are covered by the discount, whether imported or local.
The common types of rice seen in the market are milled white rice and brown rice. The exemptions are imported specialty rice like “aromatic, glutinous, pigmented and micro-nutrient dense varieties.”
She added that the discounts on locally made goods is aligned with the DA’s aim to give importance to local produce in order for consumers to patronize produce made by Filipino farmers and manufacturers.
Net content qualifier for LPG discount
Even in the past JAO, liquified petroleum gas (LPG) from LPG dealers was included as a product that can be discounted.
However, the Order noted a qualifier, stating that the discount will be applied to LPG with the net content of not more than 11 kilos.
It will also just be availed once every five months.
Nograles emphasized that “double discounts” are not allowed, and that seniors and PWDs must be given the decision to choose the better prices for their purchases. Retailers are urged to show the regular prices without the discount to compare with the discounted prices.
“By increasing the discounts for seniors, there is no [fight between] retailers versus seniors because even some retailers are senior citizens. We should all work together to honor the discounts since all of us are seniors or will soon be seniors,” she remarked.
Tax treatment
A series of public consultations with retailers and other stakeholders were conducted to discuss the implementation of the JAO, with retailers voicing concerns about the tax treatment.
Nograles and Pascual said that the tax treatment for the five percent discount on BNPCs remains to be studied by the agency.
“To address all of the issues on tax, they want an amendment or a pending bill to legislate the proper tax treatment. If you recall, tax, especially granting an exemption or a credit, is strictly construed. So if it’s not in the law, the Bureau of Internal Revenue cannot say there is,” she explained.
“Under Republic Act 9994, the [tax] treatment is clear, but as to the five percent BNPC, there is nothing. RA 9994 said it is exempted from value added tax (VAT) and treated as a deduction, so that’s what we’re doing [for the 20 percent],” she added.
Pascual noted that policymakers are looking into making the five percent discount a tax credit, wherein the discount is deducted to taxes payable instead of taxable income. — Khrischielle Yalao
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