Law violated by ‘no double discount’ rule

In its opinion on the Macalintal vs. Sofitel case, the Department of Trade Industry clarified that “the prohibition on double discounting is applicable only when the giving of discount is for the establishment’s promotion [and that] normally, a DTI permit is applied and secured before an establishment can proceed with its promotional scheme.”

In other words, on promos approved by the DTI, senior citizens cannot be given the 20-percent discount that the Senior Citizens Law grants.

But why should the DTI approve, if at all, an establishment’s voluntary act of offering promo rates, in effect abrogating the benefit granted by law to senior citizen clients? Considering that the establishment can recover such discounts by way of deduction from its income tax, why should the senior citizen lose his discount benefit from the transaction? Is not the DTI in effect actually violating the Senior Citizens Law?

In behalf of all senior citizens, I call on the DTI to reverse its “no double discounting rule” and clarify that in all cases of promo rates offered to the public by concerned establishments like PAL, senior citizens are entitled to the 20-percent discount on their promo rates, regardless of whether or not the promo is DTI-approved.

I congratulate Macalintal for standing up for his 20-percent discount as a senior citizen, thus exposing a legal loophole created by the DTI.

—AMADO F. CABAERO,

founding chair and past national president,

Philippine Association of Retired Persons,

amacabsenior1@gmail.com