Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera is calling for a congressional inquiry into the failure of food delivery applications to honor the 20-percent discount granted by law to senior citizens.

In filing House Resolution No. 1626 on Mar. 3, Herrera cited an increasing number of complaints from senior citizens who could not avail of the 20-percent discount mandated by law for food deliveries using applications like Food Panda and Grab, among others.

Section 3(g) of Republic Act (RA) 9944, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, provides that “for delivery orders, the 20 percent discount shall likewise apply subject to certain conditions, i.e. senior citizen ID card number must be given while making the order over the telephone.”

It also provides that the senior citizen ID card must be presented upon delivery to verify the identity of the senior citizen entitled to the discount.

Herrera said the law covers food deliveries made through Food Panda, Grab, and other similar applications.

However, she said senior citizens are presently unable to avail of the benefit when ordering through food delivery apps.

Herrera proposed that food delivery service providers incorporate the appropriate discounts into the account holder’s profile to allow senior citizens to avail of their discount.

She underscored the need to extend assistance to senior citizens by providing discounts to this sector given their limited income due to restrictions in movement.

“The money equivalent to the 20 percent discount of the senior citizens may be utilized for the medicine and other maintenance expenses as well as other necessities,” she said in her resolution. (PNA)