Correction of Birth Date/Sex in Civil Registry

Policies and objectives under RA 9442

The objective of Republic Act No. 9442 is to provide persons with disability the opportunity to participate fully in the mainstream of society by granting them at least twenty percent (20%) discount in all basic services (Section 4).
Republic Act No. 7277 declares that persons with disability are part of Philippine society and deserve integration into the mainstream, with the same rights as other people (Section 4).
Persons with disability must be able to live freely and as independently as possible, which must be a concern of family, community, and all government and non-government organizations (Section 4).
Rights of persons with disability must never be perceived as welfare services (Section 4).
Prohibitions on verbal, non-verbal ridicule and vilification against persons with disability must always be observed (Section 4).

Key definitions and covered terms

Persons with Disability are individuals defined under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 7277, as amended: a person with restriction/different abilities resulting from a mental, physical, or sensory impairment, including those with (1) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more psychological, physiological or anatomical function or activities; (2) a record of such impairment; or (3) being regarded as having such impairment (Section 5).
Exclusive Use or Enjoyment of Persons with Disability refers to the discount privilege that can be availed only by persons with disability (Section 5.1).
Establishment refers to business entities, private or public, duly authorized and recognized by law to operate (Section 5.3).
Hotel refers to premises used for regular reception, accommodation or lodging of travelers/tourists and incidental services for a fee (Section 5.3.1).
Lodging Establishment includes lodging houses engaged in hotel business but not registered/classified/licensed as hotels for inadequate essential facilities/services; it also includes resorts and defines multiple lodging types (Section 5.4 and its subparts).
Restaurant refers to establishments duly licensed by the government selling meals/menus to the public; the discount covers consumable items including take-outs and value meals (Section 5.4.5).
Sports and Recreational Centers covers establishments offering sports, recreational, and amusement services, including facilities like swimming pools, bowling alleys, golf courses, gyms, club houses, skating rinks, and amusement such as internet cafes and video games (Section 5.5).
Medicines include prescription and non-prescription medicines and articles approved by BFAD and DOH intended for diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease (Section 5.6).
Medical Services are health services under Section 20 of Republic Act No. 7277, including prevention (immunization, nutrition, environmental protection, genetic counseling, early detection, and timely intervention) and medical treatment and rehabilitation including mobility assistive devices (Section 5.7 and its subparts).
Dental Services cover oral examination, cleaning, fillings (permanent and temporal), extractions, treatments, restorations and other defined dental procedures necessary for diagnosis/treatment (Section 5.8).
Residential Care/Group Home is a facility providing twenty-four (24) hour resident group care for the physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being of a person with disability in a home-life atmosphere accredited by the concerned local government unit (Section 5.9).
Residential Community or Retirement Village refers to a housing facility generally horizontal, covered by individual land titles, including unit types and structures up to three levels, for lease or for sale (Section 5.10).
Basic Necessities and Prime Commodities are defined by detailed commodity lists and are subject to classification by DTI and DA (Sections 5.11 and 5.12).
Benefactor is any person (related or not) who takes care of a person with disability as a dependent (Section 5.13).
Dependent is a person with disability—minor or of legal age—who is a Filipino citizen and living with and dependent upon the benefactor for chief support (Section 5.14).

Discounts and privileges for persons with disability

Persons with disability are entitled to the listed privileges and incentives under the Rules (Section 6).
Discount from all establishments (Hotels, Lodging, Restaurants, Recreation Centers): persons with disability receive at least twenty percent (20%) discount on services for their exclusive use or enjoyment (Section 6.1).
For hotels and similar lodging establishments, the discount applies to room accommodation and amenities such as massage parlor, sauna bath, food, drinks, and other services offered (Section 6.1.a).
The hotel/lodging discount applies only to persons with disability; no discount is given to a companion without disability (Section 6.1.a).
For restaurants, the discount covers the purchase of defined consumables including take-outs and includes meals/counters such as fast food, cooked food, and short orders (Section 6.1.b).
Restaurant orders must be limited to persons with disability personal consumption to safeguard against abuse (Section 6.1.b).
For a group of people with a person with disability, only the proportionate share of the persons with disability receives discount (Section 6.1.b).
For banquet and catering services in seminars and similar activities, the discount applies only to customers with disability (Section 6.1.b).
For sports and recreational centers, the discount applies to charges for utilization of services, including rentals of facilities/equipment and other related accessories/gadgets (Section 6.1.c).
Sports/recreation centers must include discount coverage for rooms or halls for persons with disability seminars, art workshops, and other persons with disability activities (Section 6.1.c).
Admission fees privilege: persons with disability receive at least twenty percent (20%) discount on admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses, concert halls, circuses, carnivals, and similar places of culture/leisure/amusement including museums, exhibit halls, and theme parks, for exclusive use/enjoyment (Section 6.2).
Medical and dental privileges in government facilities: persons with disability must be provided at least twenty percent (20%) discounts on medical and dental services including diagnostic/laboratory fees such as x-rays, computerized tomography scans, and blood tests in all government facilities, subject to DOH guidelines issued in coordination with PHILHEALTH (Section 6.3).
Medical and dental privileges in private facilities: persons with disability must be provided at least twenty percent (20%) discounts on similar medical and dental services in private hospitals and medical facilities, subject to DOH guidelines issued in coordination with PHILHEALTH (Section 6.4).
Air and sea transportation: persons with disability receive at least twenty percent (20%) discounts in fare for domestic air and sea travel based on the actual fare except promotional fare (Section 6.5).
If the promotional fare discount is higher than twenty percent (20%), the persons with disability may choose the promotional fare and must no longer be entitled to the twenty percent (20%) discount privilege (Section 6.5).
Land transportation: persons with disability receive at least twenty percent (20%) discounts in bus fares (ordinary and aircon) and on public railways including LRT, MRT, PNR, and similar infrastructure constructed/established/operated by public or private entities (Section 6.6).
Toll fees of skyways and expressways are also subject to at least twenty percent (20%) discounts, but this privilege is available only to a person with disability owning the vehicle (Section 6.6).
Educational privileges: persons with disability must be given educational assistance (scholarships, grants, financial aids, subsidies, and other incentives) to pursue primary, secondary, tertiary, post-tertiary, and vocational/technical education in public and private schools, including support for books, learning materials, and uniform allowance to the extent feasible (Section 6.7).
Persons with disability must meet minimum admission requirements set by DepEd, CHED, TESDA, and other entities engaged in the grant of scholarship and financial assistance for persons with disability (Section 6.7).
Primary education includes nursery and kindergarten whether in private or public schools (Section 6.7).
Funding for educational assistance must include the one percent (1%) allocation for persons with disability in DepEd, CHED, TESDA, and other training and educational government agencies required by the General Appropriation Act, subject to guidelines issued by DepEd, CHED, and TESDA (Section 6.7).
Retirees with disability: to the extent practicable and feasible, persons with disability must be granted continuance of the same benefits and privileges given by GSIS, SSS, and PAG-IBIG (as applicable) as enjoyed by those in actual service (Section 6.8.1).
Retirement benefits of retirees from government and the private sector must be regularly reviewed to ensure continuing responsiveness and sustainability and must be upgraded to be at par with active-service scale to the extent practicable and feasible (Section 6.8.2).
Special programs discounts: the government may grant special discounts in special programs for persons with disability on purchase of basic necessities and prime commodities in supermarkets and grocery stores (Section 6.9).
Express lanes: express lanes for persons with disability must be provided in all private, commercial, and government establishments; in their absence, priority must be given in all transactions of the establishments (Section 6.10).
LGUs must ensure implementation of the express-lanes/priority requirement within their area of jurisdiction (Section 6.10).
All government agencies/offices and private establishments must assign a person to assist persons with disability and must provide a section or desk manned by trained personnel (Section 6.10).
The assigned personnel must be part of existing manpower in agencies/offices and private establishments whenever possible (Section 6.10).
Proof of entitlement: privileges are available only to persons with disability who are Filipino citizens, upon submission of any of the required proofs under guidelines issued by the NCWDP in coordination with DSWD, DOH, and DILG (Section 6.11).
Proof options include: (1) an identification card issued by the city or municipal mayor or barangay captains where the person with disability resides (Section 6.11.1); (2) the person with disability’s passport (Section 6.11.2); or (3) a Transportation discount fare Identification Card (ID) issued by NCWDP (Section 6.11.3).
Upon effectivity of these Rules, NCWDP must adopt identification cards issued by the Local Government Unit for uniformity, and NCWDP must provide the design and specification for LGU-issued identification cards (Section 6.11.3).

Tax incentives and deductions for beneficiaries

Benefactors caring for and living with a person with disability must be granted incentives under the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended (Section 6.12).
For incentives purposes, persons with disability are treated as dependents under Section 35(A) of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended, and individual taxpayers providing care must receive privileges granted by the Code insofar as having dependents under the same section (Section 6.12).
Head of family status for benefactor of single civil status: a benefactor whose civil status is single is considered head of family and may avail a basic personal exemption equivalent to PHP 25,000 (or as allowed thereafter under the National Internal Revenue Code) (Section 6.12.1).
Married individuals with child/children with disability: married individuals are entitled to a basic personal exemption equivalent to PHP 32,000 (Section 35(B)), and if they have a child/children with disability dependent on them for support, they receive an additional exemption of PHP 8,000 per qualified dependent (not exceeding four) (Section 6.12.2).
A married individual is not entitled to the additional exemption if the person with disability cared for is not the spouse’s child, unless the same is legally adopted (Section 6.12.2).
Solo parents under R.A. No. 8972: a single or legally separated individual with a child is entitled to a basic personal exemption granted to a head of family and an additional exemption of PHP 8,000 per qualified dependent (not exceeding four) (Section 6.12.3).
A solo parent is not entitled to the additional exemption if caring for a person with disability who is not the child, unless legally adopted (Section 6.12.3).
Grandparents with grandchild/grandchildren with disability: a grandparent who is not legally separated or a widow/widower or a solo parent is entitled to a basic personal exemption of PHP 32,000.
A legally separated grandparent or widow/widower may still claim the same basic personal exemption as if separated or as if the spouse died at the close of the taxable year, as the case may be (Section 6.12.4).
If the grandparent caring for a grandchild with disability is legally separated or a solo parent, the grandparent is entitled only to status of head of a family and the basic personal exemption equivalent to PHP 25,000 (Section 6.12.4).
A grandparent caring for a grandchild with disability cannot avail for himself/herself the additional exemption enjoyed by a married individual or by a solo parent with regard to dependent/s (Section 6.12.4).
A benefactor must comply with requirements issued by the Secretary of Finance, upon recommendation of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, before availing incentives under the Act (Section 6.12).

Incentives for disability-focused housing establishments

Individuals or nongovernmental institutions establishing homes, residential communities, or retirement villages solely for the needs and requirements of persons with disability must be accorded:
- a realty tax holiday for the first years of operation; and
- priority in the building and/or maintenance of provincial or municipal roads leading to the facility (Section 6.13).
The city and municipal government concerned where the homes/residential communities/retirement villages are located must issue implementing guidelines for availment of these incentives (Section 6.13).

Tax deductions for establishments offering discounts

Establishments may claim the discounts granted under Sections 6.1, 6.2, 6.4, 6.5, and 6.6 as tax deductions based on the net cost of the goods sold or services rendered (Section 6.14).
The cost of the discount is deductible from gross income for the same taxable year the discount is granted (Section 6.14).
The total amount of the claimed tax deduction, net of value-added tax if applicable, must be included in gross sales receipts for tax purposes and must be supported by proper documentation and comply with the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended (Section 6.14).

Ban on double discount claims

Persons with disability must not claim the privileges if the persons with disability claims a higher discount granted by the commercial establishment and/or under other existing laws or in combination with other discount programs (Section 6.15).

Definitions of public ridicule and acts prohibited

Public ridicule means making fun of or contemptuously imitating or making mockery of persons with disability in writing, words, or action due to impairment (Section 7).
Public ridicule includes making fun of a person on account of disability, even through jokes, in a degrading manner that results in embarrassment in front of two or more persons (Section 7(a)).
Public ridicule includes mockery of a person with disability in oral or written form (Section 7(b)).
Public ridicule includes imitating a person with disability in public gatherings, stage shows, carnivals, television shows, broadcast media, and other entertainments in an offensive manner to the rights and dignity of persons with disability, or similar acts (Section 7(c)).
No individual, group, or community must execute public ridicule against persons with disability at any time or place in a manner that could intimidate or result in loss of self-esteem of the person with disability (Section 7).

Definitions of vilification and acts prohibited

Vilification means (a) the utterance of slanderous and abusive statements against a person with disability that include calling a person by disability in public resulting to humiliation, and using a person’s disability as an example in an embarrassing and humiliating manner to dignity; or (b) a public activity that incites hatred, serious contempt, or severe ridicule of persons with disability (Section 8).
Any individual, group, or community is prohibited from vilifying any person with disability in a manner that could result in loss of self-esteem of the person with disability (Section 8).

Enforcement, penalties, and sanctions

Any person who violates a provision of Republic Act No. 9442 must be penalized as follows (Section 9):
- First violation: a fine of not less than PHP 50,000 but not exceeding PHP 100,000, or imprisonment of not less than six months but not more than two years, or both at the discretion of the court (Section 9(1)).
- Subsequent violation: a fine of not less than PHP 100,000 but not exceeding PHP 200,000, or imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than six years, or both at the discretion of the court (Section 9(2)).
- Abuses of privileges: imprisonment of not less than six months or a fine of not less than PHP 5,000 but not more than PHP 50,000, or both at the discretion of the court (Section 9(3)).
If the violator is a corporation, organization, or similar entity, the officials directly involved are liable (Section 9(4)).
If the violator is an alien or foreigner, the alien must be deported immediately after service of sentence without further deportation proceedings (Section 9(5)).
Upon filing of an appropriate complaint and after due notice and hearing, proper authorities may cause cancellation or revocation of the business permit, permit to operate, franchise, and other similar privileges of any business entity that fails to abide by the Act (Section 9).

Implementation rules effectivity and administrative filing

These Implementing Rules and Regulations take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation and filed with the Administrative Registrar, University of the Philippines Law Center, as required under the Administrative Code of 1987 (Section 10).
The Rules are to be supported by the participation of signatories including the Secretary Department of Social Welfare and Development, Chairperson National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons, other department secretaries, and the Administrative Registrar filing requirement under Section 10.