CAMARINES Sur Second District Rep. LRay Villafuerte urged his colleagues to support and pass his measure granting discounts and privileges to so-called junior citizens or children 12 years old and below.

Villafuerte’s House Bill 8312 proposes automatic free coverage for junior citizens under the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

“Government support for our young citizens is imperative, especially during their formative years, in order for them to grow up into fully equipped adult citizens,” Villafuerte said in his explanatory note.

“This is especially important to children from disadvantaged areas, where access to healthcare services is low or limited to private institutions,” he added.

Aside from the PhilHealth coverage, junior citizens from families with annual incomes of less than P250,000 will be entitled to free medical and dental services, as well as laboratory fees, in government health facilities.

They will also be granted a 20 percent discount and Value Added Tax exemption on various medical services, admission fees, purchase of medicines, and milk supplements. This also applies to funeral and burial services in the event of a beneficiary’s passing.

“The Philippines has made great leaps in fulfilling its commitment to the United Nations Millennium Goal of reducing child mortality and improving maternal health,” Villafuerte stressed.

“Our country is working in caring for our mothers and their newborns, with Congress strengthening this intent even more through meaningful legislation,” he added.

“The worry, however, is that focus on healthcare is stuck on the first 1,000 days of the child,” he further said.

The bill states that all junior citizens are covered by Philhealth coverage until they turn 12 years old.

Under this measure, a junior citizen must secure a Junior Citizen ID and a booklet to avail of the stated privileges.