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 Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
2nd Regular Session 
House Bill No. 9423
Introduced by Representatives ERIC GO YAP and PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The promotion of dignity of every human person including full respect of his/her 
human rights is accentuated by the 1987 Constitution. In the country, the senior 
citizens and persons with disabilities remain to be the most vulnerable and 
disadvantaged in several facets of society notwithstanding the initiatives being taken 
by the state to provide them adequate and comprehensive support programs.  
Notwithstanding the continuing social barriers that both the senior citizens and 
persons with disabilities face, they also suffer the lingering functional difficulties and 
health conditions that warrant prompt care and attention of their immediate kin. 
Despite such amount of medical supervision that they need, a significant number of 
the senior citizens and persons with disabilities were granted otherwise, if not utterly 
neglected.  In fact, a study conducted by the United States Department of Justice in 
2015 shows that persons with disabilities experienced 1.3 million violent 
victimizations, accounting for 21% of all violent victimization. Moreover, in 2020, the 
Commission on Human Rights report that elderly abuse has significantly increase 
during the pandemic in the country. The United Nations Human Rights Office of the 
High Commissioner, "one (1) in six (6) people aged 60 and above experienced some 
form of abuse in community settings." Worse, the United Nations projects that 
between 2019 to 2030, the number of persons aged 60 years or over will grow by 38% 
globally. 
It is in this pursuit that this measure seeks to ensure that the country’s senior citizens 
and persons with disabilities are accorded protection from all forms of violence, abuse, 
neglect, exploitation, and coercion, especially acts detrimental to their personal safety 
and security. Through this, the state would be able to provide them a conducive and 
nurturing community.  
HON. ERIC GO YAP 
HON. PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
October 24, 2023
2:19 pm


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
2nd Regular Session 
House Bill No. 9423 
Introduced by Representatives ERIC GO YAP and PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
AN ACT 
DEFINING AND PENALIZING THE CRIME OF ABUSE, EXPLOITATION, AND 
NEGLECT OF VULNERABLE ELDERLY PERSON AND PERSONS WITH 
DISABILITY 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
           SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Care for the Elderly 
and the Disabled Act of 2023." 
           SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State values the dignity of every person 
and guarantees full respect for human rights. To this end, the State shall penalize the 
abuse, exploitation, and neglect of a vulnerable elderly person or a person with 
disability. 
           SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - For the purposes of this Act, the following terms 
shall mean: 
(1) "Abandon" means to desert a vulnerable elderly person or a person with
disability with the intent to wholly abandon him or her;
(2) “Abuse” refers to the willful and unjustified acts of any person, including a
caregiver, towards an elderly;
(3) “Exploitation” refers to any act by any person to take advantage of the
diminished capacity of an elderly to protect
(2) "Caregiver" means a person who provides for the health, welfare, and
personal care of a vulnerable elderly person or a person with disability, at such
person's place of residence, including, but not limited to food and nutrition,


 
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shelter, hygiene, prescribed medication, and medical care or treatment. The 
term caregiver shall include but not limited to: 
 
(a) a parent, spouse, adult, child or other relative by blood or marriage, 
who resides with, or resides in the same building, and who regularly 
visits the vulnerable elderly person or the person with disability, and 
who knows or reasonably knows that such person is unable to 
adequately provide for his or her own health and personal care; 
 
(b) a person employed by the vulnerable elderly person or a person with 
disability or by another to reside with, or regularly visit the vulnerable 
elderly person or the person with disability and provide for such 
person's health and personal care; (c) a person who has agreed for 
consideration to reside with, or regularly visit the vulnerable elderly 
person or the person with disability and provide for such person's health 
and personal care; 
 
(d) a person who has been appointed by a private or public agency or 
by a court of competent jurisdiction to provide for the health and 
personal care of the vulnerable elderly person or the person with 
disability; and 
 
(e) a person who holds a power of attorney or other legal or fiduciary 
relationship that requires such person to provide for the health and 
personal care of the vulnerable elderly person or the person with 
disability. The term caregiver shall not include a long-term health care 
facility licensed or certified under the provisions of public health laws, 
or any administrative, medical or other personnel of such a facility, or a 
health care provider who is licensed under the law and renders care in 
the ordinary course of his or her profession. 
 
(3) "Person with disability" refers to any person who is suffering from restriction 
of different abilities as a result of a mental, physical, or sensory impairment, to 
perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a 
human being.  
 
(4) "Vulnerable elderly person" refers to any resident of the Philippines, at least 
sixty (60) years old, who is suffering from a disease or infirmity associated with 
advanced age. 
 
           SEC. 4. Criminal Acts of Abuse, Exploitation, and Neglect of a Vulnerable 
Elderly Person or a Person with Disability. – It shall be unlawful for any person to 
commit any of the following acts of abuse, exploitation or neglect against an elderly 
or a person with disability, to wit:  
 


 
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(1) To obtain control over money, assets, or property of the elderly through 
undue influence or deceitful machinations with the intention to deprive the 
elderly of its ownership, use, and benefit; 
 
(2) To deliberately cause mental or emotional distress through verbal or 
physical abuse, intimidation, harassment, public humiliation, and pillory 
which debases, degrades, or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of the 
vulnerable elderly or person with disability; 
 
(3) Fails to perform acts which he or she knows or reasonably should know that 
are necessary to maintain or preserve with disability and such failure causes 
said person's life to be endangered, injured, or his or her pre-existing physical 
or mental condition to deteriorate; or  
 
(3) abandons the vulnerable elderly person or the person with disability 
without justifiable causes; or 
 
(4) Other analogous circumstances which threaten or endanger the life and 
health of the vulnerable elderly or person with disability. 
 
           SEC. 5. Exceptions. - No provision of this Act shall be deemed to impose 
criminal liability upon any person who has made a good faith effort to provide for the 
health and personal care of the vulnerable elderly person or the person with disability, 
but through no fault of his or her own, has been unable to provide for such care. In 
addition, no provision of this Act shall be construed as prohibiting a person from 
providing treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone and care consistent 
therewith, in lieu of medical care and treatment in accordance with the tenets and 
practices of any church or religious denomination of which the vulnerable elderly 
person or the person with disability is a member. 
 
           SEC. 6. Protective Services. – The offended party shall immediately be placed 
under the protective custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development 
(DSWD). The DSWD Officer shall be free from any administrative, civil, or criminal 
liability in the performance of his or her duties herein provided.  
 
SEC. 7. Mandatory Programs and Services for Victims. – The DSWD, and local 
government units shall provide the victim temporary shelters, provide counseling, 
psycho-social services and /or, recovery, rehabilitation programs, and livelihood 
assistance. 
 
The Department of Health shall provide medical assistance to victims. 
 
SEC. 8. Penalty. - Any person found guilty of committing the acts punished in 
this Act shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not 
exceeding five (5) years and a fine not less than Ten Thousand Pesos (Php10,000.00) 
but not exceeding One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php100,000.00). 


 
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SEC. 9. Prescriptive Period.  – Violations of the provisions of this Act shall 
prescribe after a period of ten (10) years. 
 
           SEC. 10. Other Remedies. - No provision of this Act shall be construed to limit 
the remedies available to the vulnerable elderly person or the person with disability 
under any other provision of laws. 
 
           SEC. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within six (6) months from the 
approval of this Act, the DOH, the DSWD, the Department of Interior and Local 
Government, and the Philippine National Police, shall promulgate the Implementing 
Rules and Regulations (IRR) of this Act. 
 
SEC. 12. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid 
or unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other 
provisions hereof. 
 
           SEC. 13. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, and issuances, or 
portions thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby 
repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 
 
           SEC. 14. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
complete publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,