Karapatan ng mga PWD

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta - @Magtanong Kay Attorney | December 27, 2020

Ang mga tao na may kapansanan ay binibigyang-halaga ng estado sa lipunan upang maitaas ang kanilang moral at bigyan sila ng kaginhawaan sa kanilang pang-araw-araw na pagharap sa hamon ng buhay sa kabila ng kanilang kapansanan. Ang pagbibigay sa kanila ng karapatan ay pagpapakita ng pagkalinga ng estado upang maiangat ang kanilang pangkabuhayan kasabay ng kanilang pagharap sa hamon ng buhay.

Malinaw na nakasaad ang mga sumusunod na karapatan sa ilalim ng Republic Act No. 7277 as amended o mas kilala sa titulong Magna Carta for Disabled Persons:

“SEC. 32. Persons with disability shall be entitled to the following:
(a) At least twenty percent (20%) discount from all establishments relative to the utilization of all services in hotels and similar lodging establishments; restaurants and recreation centers for the exclusive use or enjoyment of persons with disability;
(b) A minimum of twenty percent (20%) discount on admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses, concert halls, circuses, carnivals and other similar places of culture, leisure and amusement for the exclusive use of enjoyment of persons with disability;
(c) At least twenty percent (20%) discount for the purchase of medicines in all drugstores for the exclusive use or enjoyment of persons with disability;
(d) At least twenty percent (20%) discount on medical and dental services including diagnostic and laboratory fees such as, but not limited to, x-rays, computerized tomography scans and blood tests, in all government facilities, subject to guidelines to be issued by the Department of Health (DOH), in coordination with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHILHEALTH);
(e) At least twenty percent (20%) discount on medical and dental services including diagnostic and laboratory fees, and professional fees of attending doctors in all private hospitals and medical facilities, in accordance with the rules and regulations to be issued by the DOH, in coordination with the PHILHEALTH;
(f) At least twenty percent (20%) discount on fare for domestic air and sea travel for the exclusive use or enjoyment of persons with disability;
(g) At least twenty percent (20%) discount in public railways, skyways and bus fare for the exclusive use and enjoyment of person with disability; xxx”

Sa mga nabanggit na karapatan, malinaw na nakasaad na ito ay para lamang sa ekslusibong gamit ng taong may kapansanan kaya kinakailangan ng patunay kung ito ay gagamitin ng taong pinagkalooban ng mga nasabing benepisyo, matapos niyang maipakita ang kanyang pagkakakilanlan tulad ng mga sumusunod:

(1) An identification card issued by the city or municipal mayor or the barangay captain of the place where the persons with disability resides;
(2) The passport of the persons with disability concerned; or
(3) Transportation discount fare Identification Card (ID) issued by the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP).

Bukod sa mga nabanggit na prebilehiyong makakuha ng diskuwento, ang mga taong may kapansanan ay marapat ding mabigyan ng express lane o priority lane sa mga establisimyento at opisina ng gobyerno. Tulad ng karamihan, ang taong itinuturing na “person with disability” (PWD) ay may karapatan ding mabigyan ng suporta na makakuha ng scholarship grants para makatapos ng kanyang pag-aaral kung ang nasabing PWD ay makapasa sa mga rekisitong pinaiiral ng magbibigay ng benepisyong ito.

Bilang pagkilala naman ng estado sa mga establisimyento na magbibigay ng mga prebilehiyong nabanggit sa PWD, mabibigyan naman ang mga nabanggit ng insentibo tulad ng tax deductions base sa “net cost” ng mga naibentang “goods” o naibigay na serbisyo. Kinakailangan lamang na kasali ang nasabing “claimed tax deduction net of value-added tax” sa gross sales receipts, at matapos makapagbigay ng tamang documentation sa ilalim ng probisyon ng National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC).