Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | >
Quezon City, Metro Manila |
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS \e
Second Regular Session NG

House Bill No, 5158

Introduced by: HON, FRANZ E. ALVAREZ

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to provide additional PRIVILEGES to children with special
needs.

Based on the latest estimates of the Department of Education (DepEd),
there are now 5.49 million CSNs (Children With Special Needs) in the Philippines
or thirteen percent (13%) of the total children population. Of this number, an
estimated 4.2 million were PWDs (Persons With Disabilities) while 1.27 million
were gifted.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution in Section 13 of Article II states 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”.

With the aforementioned constitutional provision, our government is
expected to commit itself in advancing the right of every Filipino child, especially
those with special needs, to the fullest, and at all costs.

Set at the context of distinctive circumstances, special children requires
such a greater commitment. It calls for the establishment and maintenance of a
regime whereby they are treated differently and with greater privileges, requiring
the establishment of an identification mechanism, full participation of the
stakeholders, and adequate budgetary support.

The legislative intent of this bill is timely and relevant as it seeks to provide
and ultimate response to critical needs of the now huge number of Filipino
special children. In its recent press release, the Department of Education cited
that, of the 5.49 million estimated number of children with special needs (CSNs)
in the Philippines, only two percent (2%) of them are able to get support from our
government, unlike in other countries where they get 100% state support.


Ultimately, our investments in CSNs may redound of the benefit of society,
as this measure can very well help these children excel in their respective fields,
thus becoming significant contributors to the growth of our nation.

In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

FRANZ E. ALVAREZ


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 9153

Introduced by: HON. FRANZ E. ALVAREZ

“AN ACT
GRANTING ADDITIONAL PRIVILEGES
TO CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (CSN)”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
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
yunts to transportation, medical, leisure;

(b) To facilitate integration of CSN with society;

(©) 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);


(h) 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;

(i) 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

(j) 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 Terms.

Children with special needs (CSN) refer to those who are the 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 thos
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 has 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, carcenonza, 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 handicap, brain injury, minimal brain
dysfunction, dyslexia and developmental aphasia;

9. Children with speech defects are those whose speech differs from
ihe average so far as to draw unfavorable attention to the manner of
speaking rather than to the thought conveyed;

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.

SEC. 3. Coverage. This Act shall cover all children with special
needs.

SEC. 4. Privileges for the Child with Special Needs. —
The Child with Special Needs 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 Child with special needs

a) The Child with special needs 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 CSNs 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 with Special Needs (OCSN). ~ There
shall be established in the Office of the Mayor an OCSN 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 with Special
Needs;

c) To maintain and regularly update on a quarterly basis


the list of Children with Special Needs and to issue
nationally uniform individual identification cards
which shall be valid anywhere in the country;

a) To serve as a general information and liaison center to
serve the needs of the Children with Special Nee:

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, 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 rules 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 take effect

fifteen (15 days following its publication in one (1) national
newspaper of general circulation.

Approved.