The local licensee of coffee shop Starbucks has acknowledged its “mistake” in placing a cap on the 20 percent discount that senior citizens and persons with disability are legally entitled to, and immediately ordered the removal of the “erroneous signages.”
At the hearing of the House of Representatives’ ways and means committee on Wednesday, Angela Cole, who identified herself as operations director of Starbucks in the Philippines, said the signages posted on the various branches of the coffee shop “was not properly worded” since they restricted the discount ordered by law to “one food item” and “one beverage.”
The House’s ways and means committee chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda conducted the hearing on orders of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez to find and plug the gaps on the implementation of laws on discounts, privileges and other benefits for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and solo parents.
Salceda asked Rustan’s Coffee Corp., the local Starbucks licensee, to address its mistake “substantially by making a buy-one-take-one offer to senior citizens and PWDs, like buy one croissant, take one beverage.”
“You violated the law. Saying sorry is not enough. We will consider initiating prosecution,” he told Cole, who promised to communicate Salceda’s request to her principals.
Salceda said he received a similar complaint against bakery products chain Goldilocks, which is allegedly limiting the 20-percent discount “to one slice for every cake.”
“We will look into this as well,” he said.
Salceda said the discounts should also be extended by online sellers, including airline companies. “I know that Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have options on their websites for elderly passengers to avail themselves of the discount,” he said.
Salceda said his committee would recommend remedial legislation or regulation to address gaps and confusion in the implementation of laws on discounts, privileges and benefits for senior citizens, PWDs and solo parents.
“The Speaker wants us to scrutinize compliance with these laws by business establishments and service provides and ensure their proper and effective implementation,” he said.
