House approves bill providing jobs for seniors, incentives for hiring elders

The House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously approved on third and final reading a measure mandating the Department of Labor to provide job opportunities for people aged 60 years old and above.

House Bill 10985 or the Employment Opportunities for Senior Citizens and Private Entities’ Incentives also enjoins all government agencies and private entities to institute an employment program that shall promote the general well-being of senior citizens and ensure access to employment opportunities to those who have the qualifications, capacity, and interest to be employed.

The bill also grants additional incentives to private entities that employ senior citizens.

Specifically, private entities that employ senior citizens will be entitled to an additional deduction from their gross income, equivalent to 25% of the total amount paid as salaries, wages, benefits, and trainings provided to senior citizens, subject to the provision of Section 34 of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended, provided that such employment will continue for a period of at least six months.

Further, the measure authorizes government agencies and private entities to hire qualified senior citizens for consultancy and other similar arrangements, as well as initiate or provide greater benefits, or improve the working conditions, or terms of employment of senior citizens beyond the minimum requirements provided by applicable laws.

The bill mandates DOLE—in coordination with other government agencies such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Department of Trade and Industry and the Civil Service Commission—to assess, design, implement, monitor and evaluate training programs that will provide skills and welfare or livelihood support for senior citizens.

Government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned and controlled corporations, local government units, and government hospitals, on the other hand, are prohibited from collecting fees and charges from senior citizen jobseekers for the following:

• police clearance certificate
• National Bureau of Investigation clearance
• barangay clearance
• medical certificate from a public hospital: provided, that fees and charges for laboratory tests and other medical procedures required for the grant of a medical certificate will not be free of charge
• birth certificate
• marriage certificate
• proofs of Identification and
• other documents issued by the government that may be required by employers from job applicants.

— BM, GMA Integrated News