Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL. No._3729

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE LAARNI LAVIN ROQUE

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The 1987 Philippine Constitution in Section 13 of Article i! mandates that:

"The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building
and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual,
and social well-being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and
nationalism and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs.”

According to the latest Department of Education (DepEd) report, 50% of the
population, or roughly 55 million Filipinos, are children and youth (0-24 yrs.) The SPED
Division of the Department of Education estimates that 13% of the children and youth
population in the country, or around 7.15 million, have special needs; 2% are gifted
while 10% are those with disabilities.

Children and youth with special needs (CYSNs) continue to experience barriers
to access basic social services. This is compounded by poverty, lack of data, weak
governance and discriminatory attitudes related to disability in general. They are less
likely to attend school, access medical services, or have their voices heard in society.
Their disabilities also place them at a higher risk of physical abuse and discrimination,
and often exclude them from receiving proper nutrition or humanitarian assistance in
emergencies.

It is high time that State pay close attention and address the needs of our
CYSNs, as well as take the necessary steps to help to make them productive citizens.

To this end, various laws have been enacted in order to uplift the lives and
advance the interests of differently abled persons. However, we often overlook the fact
that equal recognition must also be given to the parents of these differently abled
persons who have to put in extra effort in raising their children because of their


children's special needs. It is for this reason that this bill seeks to provide tax
deductions to the parents and legal guardians of children with special needs.

Given the above premises, the urgent passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

4th District; Bukidnon


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 3729

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE LAARNI LAVIN ROQUE

AN ACT
GRANTING TAX DEDUCTIONS TO PARENTS AND LEGAL
GUARDIANS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. -The State promotes and protect the youth's
physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being in recognition of their vital
role in nation-building. The State also recognizes that children and youth with
disabilities, despite their disabilities and impairments, may contribute to society but
only with the timely assistance and intervention of the State. 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.

SEC. 2. Definition. - For the purposes of this Act, these terms are defined as
follows:

‘A. Children with special needs (CSNs) refer to those persons eighteen (18)
years old and below who are the mentally gifted or are fast learners; and those who
are disabled, impaired and handicapped and in need of special education as well as.
services for rehabilitation. They differ from the average children in mental
characteristics, sensory abilities, neuro-muscular or physical characteristics, social
attributes, to such an extent that requires the use of modified school practices or
special education services to develop them to maximum capability.

They may be classified as follows:
1. Gifted children and fast learners are those capable of superior

performance including those with demonstrated achievement or potential
ability in one or more of the following areas: general intellectual ability, specific


academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking ability, leadership ability,
ability in the performing arts and psychomotor ability, or those individuals who
consistently manifest the following cluster of traits: above average ability
(including intelligence), high creativity (implies the developmental appreciation
of innovative ideas) and high task commitment (related to a high degree of
motivation) and those who by reason thereof, require services or activities not
ordinarily provided by the school;

2. Children with mental retardation intellectual disability are those who
have substantial limitation in present functioning characterized by significant
sub-average intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with the related
limitations in two or more of the applicable adaptive skill areas;
communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-
direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure and work;

3. Children with visual impairment are those who are blind or having a low
vision. Persons are blind if they have a visual capacity of 20/200 or less in a
better eye after maximum correction. The low vision persons retain a relatively
low degree of vision and can read only enlarged print or regular print under
special conditions;

4. Children with hearing impairment are those who are deaf of hard-of-
hearing. The deaf persons are one whose hearing are non-functional for
ordinary purpose in life. The hard-of-hearing have a defective sense of hearing
that is functional without a hearing aid;

5. Children with behavior problems are those who cannot adjust to the
socially accepted norms or behavior and, consequently disrupt their academic
progress, in the learning efforts of their classmates and interpersonal relations;

6. Children with orthopedic/physical handicap are those whose impairment
permanently or temporarily interferes with the normal functions of the joints,
muscles or limbs;

7 Children with special health problems are those who have health
conditions that tend to keep children out-of-school or those with chronic and/or
debilitating illnesses such as cardiac (heart) diseases, asthma, diabetes,
tuberculosis and other respiratory ailments, carcinoma, epilepsy, malnutrition
and others;

8. Children with learning disabilities are those whose although normal in
sensory, emotional and intellectual abilities exhibit disorders in perception,
listening, thinking, reading, writing, spelling or arithmetic. They have such
condition as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,
dyslexia and developmental aphasia;


9. Children with speech defects are those whose speech differs from the
average so far as to draw unfavorable attention to the manner of speaking
rather than to the thought conveyed, which include communication disorders
such as stuttering impaired articulation, language impairment, or a voice
impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance;

10. Children with autism are those with developmental disabilities, the onset
of which occurs before 30 months of age which is marked by disturbance in
development, language and relationship with persons, activities and objects
and which may coexist with intellectual disability and epilepsy. Children
afflicted with this disorder have perceptual cognitive communication and social
difficulties which change over time;

14. Children with multi-handicaps are those with more than one disability
such as the deaf-blind or those diagnosed with autism and intellectual

disability.

12. Children with Specific learning Disability - A disorder in one or more of
the basic physiological 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

13. Children with 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.

B. Youth with special needs (YSNs) refer to those persons between fifteen
(15) years old to thirty (30) years old with the same characteristics are CSNs, except
those mentally gifted or fast learners. Provided, that, those persons who have mental
retardation or autism or other chronic intellectual disabilities, shall be considered a
YSN regardless of age

C. Qualified Children and Youth with Special Needs - means a legitimate,
illegitimate or legally adopted CYSN chiefly dependent and living with the taxpayer.
This also covers children and with special needs who are placed under the legal
custody of an immediate family member or relative.


This does not cover children considered mentally gifted or fast learners.

SECTION 3. Deduction from Taxable Income. - A qualified taxpayer is entitled
to a deduction of P50,000. 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.

PAakRONa

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. Fffectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,