PWD advocates urge expansion of online discount guidelines to delivery platforms
MANILA, Philippines — Advocates for persons with disabilities lauded the passage of the joint memorandum circular granting the sector discounts in online purchases but said this should have more teeth moving forward, particularly in its coverage of platforms.
This comes after the Department of Social Welfare and Development disclosed Tuesday that the joint memorandum circular providing senior citizens and persons with disabilities a 20% discount on their online purchases of essential goods and commodities was finally signed on May 6 after months of delays.
Section 7 of the memorandum seen by Philstar.com reads: "Businesses covered by this JMC may reconfigure their business and delivery system/websites/applications to have a provision whereby the Senior Citizen or Person with Disability will be able to avail his/her statutory discount."
"In case the online system devised by the business establishment is unavailable, it shall provide an alternative manual process to properly recognize and honor the privileges granted to Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities," it also reads.
The DSWD in a statement issued Tuesday morning also said that "business establishments are urged to honor the privileges granted to senior citizens and PWDs by adopting the appropriate system or improving their existing system."
But will the joint memorandum circular cover the so-called super app platforms like Lazada, Shopee and Grab? DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo responded in the negative.
"It’s the item talaga that we’re working on so that senior citizens and PWDs can purchase with the discounts. But not the delivery, I’m not sure about the delivery. Parang hindi," she told Philstar.com in a phone call.
There are existing penalties for businesses that refuse to grant seniors and PWDs their discounts mandated by law, but no penalties are listed for apps and platforms that refuse to reconfigure their systems to allow for this process to take place.
As it stands, most online shopping and delivery apps do not have features allowing the two sectors to declare their status and show proof. For the disability community, the question now is: What’s stopping them from expanding it to other delivery services?
While he called the JMC a "good start that is good enough for now," PWD Philippines executive director Arpee Lazaro said that online shopping apps should respond by granting PWDs and seniors the ability to upload their IDs.
"We already have established that the 20 percent, sabi nga ni RA 10754, is our right. Denying us our right, just because the platform changed, is a huge debt on our income," he told Philstar.com in an interview.
"We are already, and I’m sorry to say, many people already consider us to be a burden to society. What more, those who are unemployed and cannot buy their own meds? Tapos hindi mo pa bibigyan ng discount, diba?"
Advocates in the PWD community say that beyond adjustments in the technology, the government could also take on a stronger approach when crafting the implementing rules and regulations.
Emer Rojas, executive director of the National Council for Disability Affairs — an attached bureau under the DSWD — says this should be a possibility.
"Kasi, wala namang difference ‘yun eh, purchasing online and purchasing physical," he told Philstar.com in a phone call.
"‘Yung tiwala lang, ‘yung trust and confidence and kailangan. In the United States, they all do that. They trust each other. Eh bakit sa atin wala? Yun lang ang kailangan nilang i-establish. If they will be compelled to do so, I think they will have to oblige."
Pressed for comment, a spokesperson for Grab Philippines told Philstar.com that the company was willing to participate in consultations with the government on how to adjust systems.
"We have to see what’s going to be the end-to-end guidelines, particularly for platforms and then we’ll just have to take it from there...If the government actually invites us for consultation in terms of operationalizing it then of course, we'll be very much willing to take part in that," the company said.
"We’re not the restaurant. That discounting in terms of the goods, should be determined by the restaurants. I think for us, when it comes to delivery, as a delivery partner, what we can actually explore is pretty much that what we charge is largely on the delivery fee."
Lazaro acknowledged that riders of apps like Foodpanda are "not vendors, just the people who buy it for you," but said that a solution was necessary to address the disconnect.
He added that the crux of the problem is how to make things easier for PWDs and seniors — many of whom were forced to stay indoors because of the pandemic — to order from home and still claim their discounts, which he said is unaddressed by the memorandum.
"I think the law, as it has always been, is always a step behind the technology. This is technology staring you in the face, and it’s all possible pala. For a technology issue, you should have a technology solution," he said.
Lawyer Vic Dimagiba, president of the consumer group Laban Konsyumer Inc., said that the discount should still be granted on the delivery as the law mandates 20% off "goods and services."
"If the delivery riders aren't included in the JMC then it's not complete, in other words. Bakit ‘yung source bibigyan ako, e ‘yung nagdala sakin wala? Eh, pareho naman ‘yun," he told Philstar.com in a phone call.
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