Senior Citizens Act signed–after losing its way

Malacañang yesterday appealed to the country’s elderly to be patient and wait for the Expanded Senior Citizens bill to reach the desk of President Arroyo. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Malacañang has not yet received the bill. How can you act on something that’s not even in our possession yet, Ermita said.

BEFORE President GloriaArroyo signed the expanded senior citizens bill yesterday (Tuesday), some 2,000 members of the Confederation of Older Persons of the Philippines marched on Monday to Mendiola Bridge near Malacañang to ask her why it was taking her long to sign it.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar defended the President, saying the Palace had not received the enrolled copy of the bill that would exempt senior citizens from the 12-percent value-added tax.

Olivar assured the senior citizens Mrs. Arroyo would sign the bill once the Palace received the enrolled copy.

So, many asked where did it go? The legislation amends R.A. 7234, the Senior Citizens’ Act, that entitles the elderly to a 20-percent discount on goods and services, but actually translates to only 8 percent savings because of the 12-percent VAT?

Angry senior Filipinos urged the Malacañang staff to search for the missing bill. It could be lying under the thick pile of appointment papers in the presidential study, a spokesman said.

An aide to Senate President insisted Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile had signed the enrolled copy, along with the Senate secretary, and that the bill had been forwarded to J.P. Laurel Street.

House Speaker Prospero Nograles and the House secretary general have also signed the document and kissed it goodbye, a House deputy said.

Nacionalista Party presidential candidate Manny Villar was unhappy. “Bakit pinahihirapan ang matatanda? Imbes na magpahinga sila ay kailangan pa nilang mag-rally? [Why make old people suffer? Instead of taking a rest why do they need to hold a rally (to get this benefit)?]”

An assistant secretary at the Department of Finance denied the DoF has waylaid the bill because Secretary Gary Teves had opposed the measure for its impact on tax collection.

Palace aides insisted President Arroyo appreciates the plight of the six to 10 million “young ones.” She is a senior citizen herself, they reminded the public.

She would surely sign the measure, they added. Failing that, the bill would lapse into law.

As elderly Filipinos pressed their case, Palace officials ordered a search for the missing bill in and around the New Executive Building.

Puzzled government observers also began to ask: Which office in Congress transmits an enrolled copy to Malacañang? How is it delivered? Who delivers it? Which office in Malacañang is responsible for receiving it and forwarding it to the Office of the President?

A professional Malacañang watcher commented that official papers, particularly those pertaining to appointments, routinely get lost in the labyrinths of the Palace. He surmised that President Arroyo could have lost the bill somewhere between Legarda and Lubao.

It’s also possible, he mused, that the enrolled copy, transmitted to the Palace on February 5, was just taking its time to reach the Palace compound from Quezon City.. “Alam mo na ang traffic sa Metro Manila. [You know how Metro Manila traffic is.],” he said.

Anyway, the copy was finally found. And she has signed it. All’s well that ends well.