Number-coding exemption, free parking for senior citizens sought

Senior citizens could soon enjoy exemption from the number-coding scheme and free parking spaces in all establishments if a bill now pending in Congress becomes a law.

 

House Bill 6248 filed by Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas seeks to provide additional benefits and privileges to the Filipino elderly in addition to what they are currently enjoying under Republic Act 7432, as amended by RA 9994, otherwise known as the Expanded Senior Citizens Act.

 

Under the measure, senior citizens shall be exempted from citizens from the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) of the government if he is the driver or the passenger of the vehicle he is riding.

 

Vehicles registered under the name of the elderly shall also be entitled to free parking in all establishments.

 

In pushing for the bill’s passage, Vargas said the elderly should enjoy additional privileges considering their role in nation-building.

 

At present, senior citizens comprise nearly seven percent of the total Filipino population with their number estimated at 6.263 million.

 

“It is predicted that over time, the percentage of the elderly population in relation to the total population of the country might rise to 10 percent,” Vargas said. —Xianne Arcangel/KBK, GMA News