⌛ Foreigner Using Sr. Citizen Card

.... Ditto! ... if a foreigner is good enough to get an ICard because there married to a Filipino citizen .... then good enough for them to get a Senior Discount. They should get this privileges .... just my 2centavos

 

Explain......

Explain...... Illegal and Smuggling......

As far as 1 AM on Easter Sunday, about the time I go to bed...... and I sleep very well and always has.

 

of course Mrs. Benjamin

here your own illegal activities with smuggling electronic goods int this country :

source: http://www.dumagueteinfo.com/board/general-chat/parcels-phils-8419.html#post68752

that is smuggling and nothing else Mr and Mrs super-holy ...

 

If interested custom fee paid tp DHL US$ 40.

Phone sent from UK to Dumaguete.... using DHL and Custom paid at arrival! ALL LEGAL!
Have a nice day!

 

So your holiness is a liar in the other post where you stated zero charges???

wow, I am really deeply shocked ...

here the next quote from the same post where you advice how to smuggle:

so importing items and declaring its values wrong and way below the actual price is a legal activity for you.

thanks for clarifying Mrs Sanctimonious

Hope you don't listen accidentally to any mp3 files or use "borrowed" software on your computer.

back to the original topic

I am pretty undecided in that... it is called a "senior citizen" - card and not "I am over 60 and married here" - card or similar. An I-Card is required for each tourist staying longer here than 59 days.

I do believe that the regulations about this card was for most of us (until clarified in the other thread about that topic) not that obvious, so people taking advantage of it can't be blamed.

I don't think that they go to apply and ask in the office if it is legal. most likely the 6k/month secretary does not know either and has no interest knowing it anyway.

That card is designed to help the really poor older local citizen of that country and not for relatively rich foreigners coming from their beach-Palais with the fat Pajero to the market and demanding discount for a kilo rice.

Then again, as long as the main function for foreigners here is being seen as a cash-cow with unlimited resources, I don't blame those using this card either.

good that I have 2 or 3 more weeks until I reach that age to think about my application.

 

I'd be pretty depressed if I was 38 and asked if I had a senior card........maybe it's time to review your exercise practices. and lifestyle

 

Senior citizen rights, responsibilities


By Ramon J. Farolan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:01:00 12/29/2008




DURING the year that is about to end, many of our people have developed an increasing awareness of their rights and benefits under the Senior Citizens Law—a piece of social legislation that has provided our elderly some respite from the growing costs of health care, along with similar advantages in public eateries, transportation and other facilities. While Republic Act 9257 was signed into law more than four years ago in February 2004, it is only recently that we have begun to feel its impact on our lives. For one thing, there was little effective dissemination of the provisions of the law and, oftentimes, business establishments came up with all kinds of interpretations on its implementation, often to the detriment of the Senior citizen.

In my case, the moment of confrontation arrived when two years ago I decided to use my credit card to pay for medicines at a Mercury Drug outlet. Over the years since a heart bypass operation some 12 years ago, my medical needs for blood pressure control, diabetes and prostate problems had kept mounting, and with the increased costs of prescription drugs, the situation required a larger cash outlay each time I visited the drugstore. Every now and then, I would attempt the use of my credit card but the clerk would always inform me that I could only enjoy the Senior citizen discount with a cash payment. And because I didn’t know any better, I accepted with a growing feeling of frustration what was being unilaterally imposed by the business establishment.

Earlier, Vice President Noli de Castro had sent a letter to the Inquirer informing Senior Citizens that they could avail of the 20-percent discount regardless of the manner of payment. He went on to say that the law did not distinguish whether the payment was made in cash or via a credit card. Armed with a copy of the Vice President’s letter, I proceeded to my favorite Mercury Drug outlet prepared for a showdown on the issue of the use of the credit card by a Senior citizen. To my great disappointment, Mercury Drug refused to budge from its original position, saying that the matter had to be referred to their main office for instructions.

I related my experience to Vice President De Castro and he immediately called for a meeting attended by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Trade Secretary Peter Favila, Finance Secretary Gary Teves and Ms Vivian Ascona, president of Mercury Drug Inc. It was agreed that Ms Azcona’s problem with the BIR on the treatment of the 20-percent discount as a deduction from gross income instead of a tax credit was an issue that should be addressed separately. The benefit granted to Senior Citizens should not be held hostage to this problem.

A few days later, the Vice President’s office informed me that Mercury Drug had agreed to honor the discount on payments made through the use of a credit card. After allowing some time to get the new arrangements in place, I decided to visit Mercury Drug for my usual supply of medicines. To my relief, the 20-percent discount was honored with my credit card!

Since then, friends have informed me that they now also enjoy the same arrangement. But from time to time, we still receive various complaints from other Senior Citizens. Some drugstores limit hours of operation for Senior Citizens, some indicate a lack of supply of the medicines when they become aware that Senior Citizens are their customers and, in a few instances, their use of credit cards result in non-availment of the discount. In the face of these practices, not much could be done immediately to correct the situation considering the urgency of their needs.

So for us Senior Citizens, the year 2008 has been a mixed bag of blessings and frustrations.

Let me mention a few of the positive developments aside from the credit card issue which we had just related. There is now a general acceptance of the 20-percent Senior citizen discount in most restaurants and entertainment facilities. There remains the issue of uneven, inconsistent application of the discount particularly when it involves a mixed group of Senior and non-senior Citizens. There needs to be more fine-tuning of this problem area for greater uniformity of implementation. I might add that a number of business establishments have been quite liberal in their own interpretation of the law in favor of the Senior Citizens.

Some local executives, particularly Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, have been actively supportive in ensuring that the Senior citizen Law is properly implemented, at times calling to account those establishments that have come up with their own versions of the law to the detriment of elderly Citizens.

If we think about it, even more than national agencies, it is the local government units that can readily assist us in ensuring compliance with the law. In fact, the law specifically provides that “it shall be the responsibility of the municipality/city, through the Mayor, to require all establishments covered by this Act to prominently display posters, stickers and other notices that will generate public awareness of the rights and privileges of Senior Citizens and to ensure that the provisions of this Act are implemented to the fullest.” The Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) in each city/municipality throughout the country should be the first line of defense for the Senior Citizens. I realize that often the local

OSCA is undermanned and ill-equipped to deal with the problem but we must not be discouraged. Change never comes easily.

A word about KFC—it has mellowed in its treatment of Senior Citizens. Whereas in the past, it highlighted the restrictions (sometimes of its own making) applicable to Senior Citizens, I now notice its signs proclaiming that “the Senior citizen discount is honored in this establishment.” What a few changes in language can do for its image!

* * *

While the law provides these benefits for Senior Citizens, it is important to bear in mind that they are for the exclusive use or enjoyment of Senior Citizens. Friends or even family members are not legitimate beneficiaries of this law. Let us not abuse the privilege. Such actions may lead to the imposition of all kinds of safeguards if not outright revocation of the privilege. Remember that every right carries with it a corresponding responsibility and if we are to live up to our title as Senior Citizens of the nation, we must show our juniors that we are not above the law and that we lead by example.

 

Not to mention of course all the fees we pay, i.e. High visa renewal fees, AIR card, departure tax, smoke test on NEW vehicles etc.

Then there's the US sacrifice in PI during WWII...

Blah

 

WHOA Thar!

The US, Were NOT, the only ones there young fella! This was a WORLD War remember! The rest of the WORLD played it's Part. My Father was in a POW camp in Manila for 2 years. and he was British.


Jack P.

 

If you use that card on trykes, most pedicab drivers will avoid you like a neighbor (a Filipino senior citizen) who uses this card when taking the pedicab. Naturally, many pedicab drivers will refuse him because he would go to his far destinations and only pay little.