HOUSE APPROVES BILL ALLOWING EMPLOYMENT FOR SENIORS

THE House of Representatives approved on third and final reading a bill allowing senior citizens to be employed even after reaching retirement age.

House Bill 10985 or the Employment Opportunities for Senior Citizens and Private Entities Incentives passed with 173 affirmative votes during Tuesday’s plenary session.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said retired or elderly individuals should not just be left to fend for themselves or depend entirely on their monthly pension.

“It’s about time we help ensure automatic employment allocation for Filipinos aged 60 years old and above,” Romualdez said.

“They (senior citizens) should also be given the opportunity to be given post-retirement careers, like for example doing menial jobs that are not physically strenuous. Let’s allow them to be still productive citizens of the country. If advanced economies can do it, why can’t we?” he added.

Among the authors of the bill are senior citizens themselves, including Reps. Rodolfo Ordanes who is the chairman of the Committee on Senior Citizens Affairs, Sergio Dagooc of APEC party list, Salvador Pleyto Sr. of Bulacan 6th district, and Bro. Eddie Villanueva of Citizens Battle Against Corruption Party list.

Once signed into law, the said bill will further amend Republic Act 7432 or “An Act to Maximize the Contribution of Senior Citizens to Nation-Building, Grant Benefits, and Special Privileges” signed into law by the late president Cory Aquino in April 1992.

Under the measure, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is required to provide information and job-matching services to senior citizens who still have the capacity and desire to work.

HB 10985 also makes a list of possible jobs for seniors, including “clerical or secretarial work, consultancy, cleaning or janitorial services, event organizing, teaching, kitchen help, sales assistance, BPOs (business process outsourcing), and other jobs or volunteer works.”

Meanwhile, private companies hiring seniors shall be entitled to an additional deduction from their gross income tax, equivalent to 25 percent of the total amount paid as salaries, benefits, and training for senior citizens.

The proposed law also prohibits all government agencies from charging fees to senior citizens for documents—such as a birth certificate, police clearance, medical certificate—required for their employment.