The Senate ratified Wednesday night the bicameral conference committee (BCC) report on the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act,” seeking to exempt the elderly from paying the 12 percent value added tax (VAT).

The VAT exemption will apply to the following: medicines and essential medical supplies, accessories and equipment; fees of attending physicians; medical, dental fees and diagnostic and laboratory fees; fares for buses, jeepneys, taxis, AUVs, shuttle services, public railways, domestic air transport and other vessels; utilization of services in hotels, restaurants and similar establishments; admission fees in cinemas, theaters and other places of culture, leisure and amusement;  funeral and burial services for the death of senior citizens.

In addition, indigent senior citizens would also be granted a monthly stipend of P500 and assistance of P2,000 to their next of kin when they die.

Senior citizens may also enjoy a five percent discount on their water and electric bills on the condition that the utilities are named under the senior citizen residing in the household, and the consumption for electricity and water should be below 100 kilowatt-hours and 30 cubic meters per month, respectively.

The “Expanded Senior Citizens Act” will be forwarded to Malacanang for the President’s signature.