Summary of Additional Benefits and Privileges of PWDs under RA 10754

Republic Act No. 10754 amended Sections 32 and 33 of Republic Act No. 7277 also known as “Magna Carta for Persons with Disability,” and provided the following additional benefits to PWDs.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

I. At least 20% Discount and VAT exemption on the following:

Note: The sale of goods and services for the exclusive use and enjoyment or availment of the PWD

Fees and charges relative to the utilization of all services in hotels and similar lodging establishments; restaurants and recreation centers;
Admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses, concert halls, circuses, carnivals and other similar places of culture, leisure and amusement;
Purchase of medicines in all drugstores
Medical and dental services including diagnostic and laboratory fees such as, but not limited to, x-rays, computerized tomography scans and blood tests, and professional fees of attending doctors in all government facilities
Medical and dental services including diagnostic and laboratory fees, and professional fees of attending doctors in all private hospitals and medical facilities
Fare for domestic air and sea travel
Actual fare for land transportation travel such as, but not limited to, public utility buses or jeepneys (PUBs/PUJs), taxis, asian utility vehicles (AUVs), shuttle services and public railways, including light Rail Transit (LRT), Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Philippine National Railways (PNR)
Funeral and burial services for the death of the PWD.

The person who shouldered the funeral and burial expenses shall claim the discount upon the presentation of the death certificate of the deceased PWD.
Expenses include purchase of casket or urn, embalming, hospital morgue, transport of the body to intended burial site in the place of origin.
It excludes obituary publication and the cost of the memorial lot.

II. Educational Assistance for PWD

Includes primary, secondary, tertiary, post tertiary, as well as vocational or technical education, in both public and private schools.
How: Scholarships, grants, financial aids, subsidies and other incentives to qualified PWD, including support for books, learning materials, and uniform allowance to the extent feasible
Requirement: PWD shall meet the minimum admission requirements

III. Continuance of Social Security Benefits

To the extent practicable and feasible, the continuance of the same benefits and privileges given by the GSIS, SSS, and Pag-IBIG, as the case may be, as are enjoyed by those in actual service.

IV. Special Discounts on Purchase of Basic Commodities

To the extent possible, the government may grant special discounts in special programs for PWD on purchase of basic commodities, subject to the guidelines to be issued by DTI and DA;

V. Express lanes / priority lanes

Provision of express lanes for PWD in all commercial and government establishments; in the absence thereof, priority shall be given to them.

REQUIREMENTS TO AVAIL SAID BENEFITS

Must be a Filipino citizen (natural-born or naturalized may avail since the law does not distinguish)
Submission of any of the following as proof:

An identification card issued by the city or municipal mayor or the barangay captain of the place where the PWD resides,
The passport of the PWD concerned, or
Transportation discount fare Identification Card (ID) issued by the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP)

TAX TREATMENT OF DISCOUNT

Tax deduction from the gross income of the establishment for the same taxable year that the discount is granted.

PWD as DEPENDENTS FOR PURPOSES OF ADDITIONAL PERSONAL EXEMPTION FOR INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS

Taxpayers caring for and living with PWDs may treat them as dependents and claim additional personal exemption of P25,000. This is subject to the provision of NIRC that qualified dependents shall not exceed four (4).
Requisites for PWD to be considered as a dependent: