PEOPLE with disability and their families will be exempted from paying the value- added tax and other deductions following the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 10754.
Senator Sonny Angara, the sponsor of the bill what was enacted eight months ago, said the new law intended to ease the burden of people with disability.
He made his statement even as Philippine Constitution Association president Martin Romualdez said Thursday he would see to it that all establishments will comply with the new law favoring the more than 1.5-million disabled people.
“The fight has just begun. Our task now is to guarantee that all beneficiaries will fully enjoy the assistance that the law is offering,” Romualdez said.
“We will work now for the immediate implementation of the law and make sure that all provisions are strictly followed.”
RA 10754 exempts people with disability from paying the 12-percent VAT on land transportation, domestic air and sea travel, on the fees and charges for medical and dental services and medicines, on funeral and burial services, on the fees and charges in hotels, restaurants and recreation centers, and on the admission fees in theaters, cinema houses, concert halls.
The VAT exemption is on top of the 20-percent discount on certain goods and services that disabled people are already entitled to under the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons.
Of the 1.5-million people with disability, only 30,000 are registered with PWD IDs and eligible to receive the benefits and privileges under the magna carta based on the 2014 data from the Philippine Registry for Persons with Disability of the Department of Health.
Angara urged the government to intensify its information dissemination campaign and to streamline the process for the application of the PWD ID.
“We must ensure that all disabled Filipinos are provided with the necessary assistance and opportunities that will help them develop their potential and become fully participative members of society,” he said.
