After getting his bill on persons with disabilities (PWD) signed into law, senatorial candidate Martin Romualdez said his next goal was to ensure that establishments give the full discounts.
In a radio interview, Romualdez said he would lead a broad, information campaign to ensure that all establishments from fast-food stores to drugstores to transportation firms would grant the full 32-percent discount—20-percent PWD discount and 12-percent exemption from value added tax—to PWDS.
With the law to take effect the middle of this month, Romualdez said he would push for the completion of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) as soon as possible.
Romualdez’s House Bill No. 1039 was signed into law by the President on March 24. It grants PWDs exemption from the 12 percent VAT to ensure that they enjoy the full 20-percent discount they were entitled to Republic Act No. 7277, also known as the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability.
The discount is applicable for medical and dental services; purchase of medicines in all drugstores; public railway, skyway and bus fares; admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses, concert halls, circuses, carnivals and other places of culture, leisure and amusement; and all services in hotels and similar lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation centers.
Romualdez said that private and government establishments would be protected from fraud since PWDs could only avail of the discounts with their cards issued by local government units just like for senior citizens. He said the IRR should also provide channels to address grievances of PWDs on establishments that do not give them their perks.
On why he chose the PWD’s case as his advocacy, Romualdez said he believed that all Filipinos have relatives who have disabilities. He revealed that he has a cousin who was a “special child” who could not play with them or engage in normal activities when they were both growing up.
“I realized that these individuals needed special attention,” said Romualdez.
Romualdez carried his soft heart for PWDs in his teenage years when he volunteered to visit special schools for the disabled. He said that he was even inspired to make a photo essay at age 16 to give deeper look into the plight of the disabled.
Romualdez said he was grateful to the President, his fellow lawmakers and the PWD community for helping him shepherd his bill into law.
Although only 1.5 million PWDs were officially registered, Romualdez said he believed the number of beneficiaries could rise to between 5 and 10 million beneficiaries especially in the provinces where most residents hide from public view their kin or friends with disabilities.
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