Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

House BILL No. _3733

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE LAARNI LAVIN ROQUE

EXPLANATORY NOTE
The 1987 Philippine Constitution in Section 13 of Article Il 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.

Itis 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.

Because of their special status, the bill proposes several policy measures that will
help create and maintain a stable environment where their special needs are given ample
attention. Through the establishment of identification mechanisms, full participation of
stakeholders and adequate budgetary support, itis the vision of this representation to level
the playing field and give the necessary assistance to our CSNs.

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

4th Digtrict, Bukidnon

c PONS


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. _ 3733

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE LAARNI LAVIN ROQUE

AN ACT
GRANTING ADDITIONAL PRIVILEGES TO
CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (CYSN)

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

SECTION 1. Declaration of Policies and Objectives. - It is hereby declared the policy
of the State to protect and promote the rights of children with special needs (CSN) to
additional privileges to take appropriate steps to make such privileges accessible to
them. The State recognizes their vital role in society and endeavors to include their
needs as integral part of national development strategies.

It is also the policy of the State to give full support for their welfare and
development to ensure their full integration to society as well as to facilitate their active
participation in the affairs of the State. Towards this end, the State shall institutionalize
additional privileges for every CSN through the establishment of privileges equal to
those that benefit Filipino senior citizens. Thus, all CSN, in any degree of sensory,
physically or intellectual disability or needs, will have privileges that will greatly help
them to live better lives.

Objectives. The objectives of this bill are:

(a) To provide CSN access to additional privileges through the granting of
discounts to transportation, medical, leisure;

(b) To facilitate integration of CSN with society;

(c) To facilitate integration of CSN fully develop their potentials towards self-
sufficiency and become more effective partners in the affairs of the country;


(d) To ensure that CSN understand, appreciate and respect differences
amongst groups and members in society and also to understand the nature of

society in which they live;
(e) To identify gifted and talented children from ages three (3) to sixteen (16);

(f) To enhance the role of parents, teachers and other caregivers as primary
caregivers as primary caregivers of the children by equipping them with
capabilities to identify, prevent, refer or intervene with the development
disorders and disabilities of children;

(g) To involve private groups, local government units (LGUs) and national
agencies other than the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DepEd) in the education of CSN; and

(h) To create significant and positive changes in community attitudes towards
disability and the need to provide special education and proper care for CSN

SEC. 2. Definition of Children and Youth with Special Needs (CYSNs) -

A Children with special needs (CSNs) refer to those persons eighteen (18)

years old and below who are 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 leamers 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;

11. 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.

SEC. 3. Coverage. - This Act shall cover all children and youth with special needs
(CYSNs)

SEC. 4. Privileges for the Child and Youth with Special Needs (CYSNs). - The CYSNs
shall be entitled to the following:

a) The grant of twenty percent (20%) discount on purchases of basic
necessities such as food , water, groceries and medicines;

b) The grant of twenty percent (20%) discount from all establishments relative
to utilization of transportation services (including all public utility vehicles),
hotels and similar lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation centers:
Provided, That private establishments may claim the cost as tax credit;

c) A minimum of twenty percent (20%) discount on admission fees charged by
theaters, cinema houses and concert halls, circuses, carnivals and other similar
places of culture, leisure , and amusements;

d) Free medical and dental services in government establishment anywhere in
the country, subject to guidelines to be issued by the Department of Health, the
Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System;

SEC. 5. Government Assistance. - The Government shall provide the following
assistance to those caring for and living with the CYSNs:

a) CYSNs shall be treated as dependents provided for in the National Internal
Revenue Code and as such, individual taxpayers caring for them, be they
relatives or not shall be accorded the privileges granted by the Code insofar as.
having dependents are concerned.


b) Individuals or non- governmental institutions establishing homes, residential
communities or villages solely for the CYSNs shall be accorded the following

1) Realty tax holiday for the first five (5) years starting from the first year
of operations;

2) Priority in the building and/or maintenance of provincial or municipal
roads leading to the aforesaid home, residential community or retirement
village.

SEC. 6. The Office for Children and Youth with Special Needs (OCYSN). - There shall
be established in the Office of the Mayor an OCYSN to be headed by a Councilor who
shall be designated by the Sangguniang Bayan and assisted by the Community
Development Officer in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and
Development. The functions of this office are:

a) To plan, implement and monitor yearly work programs in pursuance of the
objectives of this Act;

b) To draw up a list of available and required services which can be provided
to the Children and Youth with Special Needs;

¢) To maintain and regularly update on a quarterly basis the list of Children and
Youth with Special Needs and to issue nationally uniform individual
identification cards which shall be valid anywhere in the country ;

d) To serve as a general information and liaison center to serve the needs of
the Children and Youth with Special Needs.

SEC. 7. Penalties. - Violation of any provision of this Act for which no penalty is
specifically provided under any other law, shall be punished by imprisonment not
exceeding one (1) month or a fine not exceeding One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) or
both

SEC. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations, - The Secretary of Social Welfare and
Development jointly with the Department of Trade and Industry, Land Transportation
and Franchising Regulatory Board, Department of Finance, the Department of Health,
and the Department of Interior and Local Government shall issue the necessary rules
and regulations to carry out the objectives of this Act.

SEC. 9. Appropriations. - The National Government shall appropriate such amount as
may be necessary to carry out the objectives of this Act

SEC. 10. Repealing Clause. - All provisions of laws, orders, and decrees, including
ules and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed and/or modified

accordingly.

SEC. 11. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act shall be held to be
unconstitutional or invalid, other provisions hereof which are not affected thereby shall

continue to be in full force and effect.


SEC. 12. Effectivity. - This Act shall fifteen (15) days following its publication in two (2)
newspapers of general circulation

Approved.