During a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Monday (February 5), NCSC chairperson Franklin Quijano highlighted that the current booklets often fail in their purpose, as senior citizens frequently forget to carry them during purchases, resulting in the loss of entitled discounts.

Saying that the purchase booklets must now be discarded, Quijano reiterated his proposal for the setting up of a centralized databased that digitally records transactions related to senior citizens’ discounts on medicines, basic necessities and prime commodities.

This approach would involve data-sharing between merchants and the government, he said.

“The substitute for the recording system is iyong mandato ng ating Presidente na dapat i-digitalize ang lahat ng transaksyon,” the former Iligan City mayor said.

Quijano emphasized that the move aligns with the President's mandate to digitize all government transactions, requiring collaborative efforts across government offices to establish an efficient centralized database system.

In addition to the practical benefits, Quijano pointed out the environmental impact of using paper booklets, expressing concern about the potential deforestation caused by the production of booklets for the approximately 12 million senior citizens.

However, Quijano underscored the necessity for Congress to amend Republic Act 9994, also known as the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, to implement the transition from booklets to a digitalized database.

He expressed hope that Congress would support the initiative, emphasizing the involvement of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in addressing the technical aspects of the proposal.