SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
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) 
) 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. '_~1,-9~O-=-=5_ 
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NOV -5 P5 :33 
Introduced by SENATOR JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill seeks to ease the financial burden on families who have children 
with special needs. Parents and legal guardians will be allowed a tax deduction 
to help deal with expenses incurred for the child's therapy, education and 
treatment. 
Children with disabilities have personal challenges far in excess of those 
considered regular and healthy children. Parents need to pay for specialized 
services such as occupational, physical and speech therapies to improve the 
quality of life of their children. 
The Department of Education's Special Education Division estimates the 
cost for taking care of a child with a disability is at least double compared to 
regular children. 
A child with a disability is understood to be a child who is intellectually 
disabled, has hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language 
impairments, visual impairments, serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic 
impairments, autism and traumatic brain injury. 
Based on the 2009 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, Filipino 
families earned an average of P206,000 and spent Php176,000 on the average. 
This translates to an average annual family savings of P31,000 in 2009. On a 


monthly basis, the reported average income was P17,200 and average 
expenditure was PI4,700. 
Families in the bottom 30% income group reported an average annual 
family income of P62,000. Families in the upper 70% income group earned an 
average annual income of P268,000. On a monthly basis, the average income of 
the families in the bottom 30% was P5,200 while the upper 70% earned an 
average of P22,300. 
Children with a learning disability topped the list of special needs 
children enrolled in a public elementary school as of 2009. A total of 51,296 
children were assessed as learning disabled, while the number of mentally 
retarded/intellectually disabled children stood at 13,119. Children who are 
hearing impaired ranked third with 12,039. 
For School Year 2007 to 2008, the number of enrolled children with 
special needs in public and private elementary schools stood at 92,429. This 
translates to a 27.6% increase compared to School Year 2004 to 2005's total of 
79,118. Many children no longer pursue secondary education or stay in 
elementary schools for an extended period of time. 
In the provinces, children with different disabilities are often grouped 
together rather than have separate classes for each condition. Ideally, there 
should be 10 to 15 students per teacher. However, the existing student to 
teacher ratio is 25: 1 and children with different disabilities are grouped in the 
same class. 
This bill aims to help parents and legal guardians provide better support 
and special care for a child with special needs by reducing their expenses. 
The immediate approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO 


SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. __ 
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NOV -5 
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Introduced by SENATOR JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO 
AN ACT GRANTING TAX DEDUCTIONS TO PARENTS AND LEGAL 
GUARDIANS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS 
SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy - It is the policy of the State to promote 
the right of every individual to relevant quality education regardless of sex, agf1, 
breed, socio-economicstatus, physical and mental condition, social or ethnic 
origin, political and other affiliation. Further, the State shall promote and 
maintain equality of access to education and medical care as well as the 
enjoyment of benefits of education by all its citizens. 
SECTION 2. Definition - For the purposes of this Act, these terms are 
defined as follows: 
Qualified Children with Special Needs - means a legitimate, illegitimate or 
legally adopted child chiefly dependent and living with the taxpayer. This also 
covers children with special needs who are placed under the legal custody of an 
immediate family member or relative. The child should not be more than 13 
years of age and must be assessed by the Department of Education's Special 
Education Division and a"medical professional in order to qualify. This does not 
cover children considered mentally gifted or fast learners. 
Autism - A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and 
nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 
three (3), that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other 
characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive 


activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or 
change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The 
term does not apply if a child's educational performance is adversely affected 
because the child has an emotional disturbance. 
Deafness - A hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is 
impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without 
amplification, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. 
Intellectually Disabled -
Significantly subaverage general intellectual 
functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and 
manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child's 
performance. 
Hearing Impaired - An impairment in hearing, whether permanent or 
fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's performance. 
Emotional Disturbance - A condition exhibiting one or more of the following 
characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely 
affects a child's educational performance: 
A. An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or 
health factors 
B. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships 
with peers and teachers 
C. Inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances 
D. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression 
E. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated wit4 
personal or school problems 
ii. The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children 
who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an 
emotional disturbance. 
Orthopedic Impairment - A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely 
affects a child's educational performance. The term includes impairments 
caused by congenital anomaly (e.g., club foot, absence of some member), 
impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and 


, . 
impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and 
fractures or burns that cause contractures). 
Visual Impairment - An impairment in vision that, even with correction, 
adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes both 
partial and sight blindness. 
Traumatic Brain Injury - An acquired injury to the brain caused by an 
external physical force, reSUlting in total or partial functional disability or 
psychosocial impairment or both, and that adversely affects a child's 
educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries 
resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; 
memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem solving; 
sensory; perceptual and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical 
functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to 
brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative or to brain injuries induced 
by birth trauma. 
Speech or Language Impaired -
A communication disorder such as 
stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment 
that adversely affects a child's educational performance. 
Specific Learning Disability - A disorder in one or more of the basic 
psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, 
spoken or written, which may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, 
think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. Such term 
includes conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain 
dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. 
SECTION 3. Deduction from Taxable Income - A qualified taxpayer is entitled 
to a deduction of P50,OOO. Expenses that qualify for a: deduction are: 
• Tuition for a private school 
• . Therapy 
• 
Diagnostic evaluations by a medical professional 
• Tutoring 
• Transportation expenses to school or a medical facility 


, , 
• 
Specialized instructional materials 
The parent or legal guardian must provide more than half of the total 
financial support for the child to qualify for the deduction. 
SECTION 
4. 
Implementation. 
The Bureau of Internal Revenue in 
consultation with the Department of Education's Special Education Division 
and Department of Health shall issue such rules and regulations as may be 
necessary to carry out the purpose of this Act. 
SECTION 5. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette and two (2) newspapers with a nationwide 
circulation. 
Approved,