A city councilor here is pushing for business establishments to accept any government-issued identification cards as proof of senior citizen status to avail of discounts and not just those issued by the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs Office (OSCA).

Councilor Sedfrey Cabaluna, during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod on Wednesday, proposed a resolution “strongly urging business establishments” to honor other IDs following reports establishments are requiring a senior citizens ID.

“The law also provides that any sufficient proof of senior citizens status will do. Our resolution calls that any government-issued ID be recognized to avail of discounts,” he said in an interview.

However, the approval of the resolution was delayed as other members of the council called for more discussions and the proposal was referred to the Committee on Veterans, Retirees and Elderly for further study.

The study will be gathering the experiences of senior citizens and their other concerns relative to availing of discounts.

Cabaluna said through the resolution they would like to raise awareness that any government-issued ID can be used as proof of status.

There are cases when it is already obvious an individual is already a senior citizen but could not avail of discount privileges without an OSCA ID.

“We will enlighten them that it is also important that we give back to our senior citizens their contributions to the community when they were still productive members of their society,” Cabaluna said.

Iloilo City has 34,000 to 35,000 estimated senior citizens registered with the OSCA. (PNA)