Senior Citizens Center Act of the Philippines

February 14, 1995

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7876

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER IN ALL CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES OF THE PHILIPPINES, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

SECTION 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Senior Citizens Center Act of the Philippines."

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the declared policy of the State to provide adequate social services and an improved quality of life for all. For this purpose, the State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach towards health development giving priority to elderly among others.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. — (a) "Senior citizens," as used in this Act, shall refer to any person who is at least sixty (60) years of age.

(b) "Center," as used in this Act, refers to the place established by this Act with recreational, educational, health and social programs and facilities designed for the full enjoyment and benefit of the senior citizens in the city or municipality.

SECTION 4. Establishment of Centers. — There is hereby established a senior citizens center, hereinafter referred to as the Center, in every city and municipality of the Philippines, under direct supervision of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, hereinafter referred to as the Department, in collaboration with the local government unit concerned. casia

SECTION 5. Functions of the Centers. — The centers are extensions of the fourteen (14) regional offices of the Department. They shall carry out the following functions:

(a) Identify the needs, trainings, and opportunities of senior citizens in the cities and municipalities;

(b) Initiate, develop and implement productive activities and work schemes for senior citizens in order to provide income or otherwise supplement their earnings in the local community;

(c) Promote and maintain linkages with provincial government units and other instrumentalities of government and the city and municipal councils for the elderly and the Federation of Senior Citizens Association of the Philippines and other nongovernment organizations for the delivery of health care services, facilities, professional advice services, volunteer training and community self-help projects; and

(d) To exercise such other functions which are necessary to carry out the purpose for which the centers are established.

SECTION 6. Center Workers. — The Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) may designate social workers from the Department as the workers of the centers: Provided, however, That the Secretary may appoint other personnel who possess the necessary professional qualifications to work efficiently with the elderly of the community.

The Secretary may also call upon private volunteers who are responsible members of the community to provide medical, educational and other services and facilities for the senior citizens.

SECTION 7. Qualification/Disqualification. — A senior citizen who suffers from a contagious disease, or who is mentally unfit or unsound or whose actuations are inimical to other senior citizens as determined by the DSWD on the basis of an appropriate certification by a qualified government or private volunteer physician, may be denied the benefits provided in the Center. However, the center shall refer the senior citizen concerned to the appropriate government agency for the needed medical care or confinement. cdt

SECTION 8. Exemptions of the Center. — The Center shall be exempted from the payment of customs duties, taxes and tariffs on the importation of equipment and supplies used actually, directly and exclusively by the Center pursuant to this Act, including those donated to the Center.

SECTION 9. Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days from the approval of this Act, the DSWD, in coordination with other government agencies concerned, shall issue the rules and regulations to effectively implement the provisions of this Act. Any violation of this section shall render the concerned official(s) liable under Republic Act No. 6713, otherwise known as the "Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees" and other existing administrative and/or criminal laws.

SECTION 10. Coordination of Government Agencies. — The DSWD, in coordination with the Department of Health and other government agencies and local government units, shall assist in the effective implementation of this Act and provide the necessary support services.

SECTION 11. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law and every year thereafter.

The sum necessary for the continuous operation of the centers shall be subsidized in part by the DSWD and in part by the local government units concerned.

SECTION 12. Repealing or Amending Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, and rules and regulations, which are not consistent with this Act, are hereby modified, amended or repealed accordingly. casia

SECTION 13. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved: February 14, 1995

Published in the Philippine Times Journal and Malaya on February 18, 1995. Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 91 No. 15 page 2143 on April 10, 1995.