Not much has improved since the passage of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010. The cost of living standard has gone up but the 5-percent discount on weekly food purchases not exceeding P1,300 has remained. Why can’t they buy them in one trip of P5,200 instead of traveling weekly to the grocery? There should be no restrictions on what seniors want to buy as they are the best judge of what they need. Allowing them to buy in bulk would be cheaper and environment-friendly. At the checkout, all counters should be open to serve senior citizens instead of only one or two lanes.
The privileges given by the Quezon City council are a big disappointment. To avail themselves of free movies, seniors are restricted to Mondays and Tuesdays and before 5 p.m. They should be allowed to watch the movie any time instead of waiting for the next screening. They should be allowed to use any lanes or counters. One movie theater in Cubao even refuses to allow a senior to buy the ticket of his junior companion. What a shameful treatment. Instead of allocating three to four hours which is not even enough for two movies, there should be at least five hours or more. It is very difficult to synchronize the screening time. Seniors need time to snack outside the cinemas instead of buying unhealthy junk food.
Some of the biggest malls charge the full amount of parking fees for overtime parking instead of proportionate “penalty” over and above the allocated free parking time. The restrictions of parking for senior citizens should be abolished. Allocating 15 vehicles per floor instead of 15 percent (about the size of senior citizens) of the total parking slots boggles the mind. How could these lawmakers be too simplistic in their deeds?
A national law should be passed to govern the treatment of senior citizens throughout the country instead of relying on the whims of local legislators.
ARMANDO ANG,
aaa_dualforce@yahoo.com