Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. _3732

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE LAARNI LAVIN ROQUE

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The 1987 Philippine Constitution in Section 13 of Article li 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.

Early intervention is imperative to give children the best developmental,
behavioral and adaptive outcomes that will allow them to function properly in society
despite their limitations.

The proposed legislation aims to put in place a comprehensive and coordinated
health policy on children with special needs that would provide the directions and
interventions that must be undertaken by and among concemed agencies in an
effective and timely manner. We must be receptive to and supportive of children with

special needs.



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

LAARNILAYIN ROQUE

4th District, Bukidnon


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. _3/32

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE LAARNI LAVIN ROQUE

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE ACCESSIBLE AND
AFFORDABLE EARLY DETECTION AND TIMELY
INTERVENTION SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL
NEEDS

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

Section 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Early Detection and
Intervention Services for Children with Special Needs Act."

SEC. 2.. Declaration of Policy. -- It is the policy of the State to adopt an integrated and
comprehensive approach to health development which shall endeavor to make
essential goods, health and other social services available to all the people at
affordable cost.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms -

A Children with special needs (CSNs) refer to those persons eighteen (18)
years old and below 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 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 biind or having a low
vision. Persons are blind if they have a visual capacity of 20/200 or less ina
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 ilimesses 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.

SEC. 4. The Program - The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of
Health (DOH) shall undertake to develop a program providing for comprehensive
accessible and affordable early detection and timely intervention services for CSNs.

SEC. 5. Objectives. - The objectives of this program includes but not limited to the
following:

a. To increase awareness, reduce barriers to screening and diagnosis, promote
evidence-based interventions for CSNs;

b. To build a qualified and adequately trained workforce prepared to provide
special needs services for children and their families;

c. To conduct a comprehensive, multi-faceted public awareness campaign to
educate families, the general public, and other key audiences about the benefits
of children’s social and emotional development, and how to access services;

d. To create a quality-driven children's special needs system with shared
accountability among agencies and programs that conducts ongoing needs


assessments, uses outcome indicators and benchmarks to measure progress,
and implements quality data tracking and reporting system.

SEC. 6. Role of Local Government Units -. All local government units shall endeavor
to establish special needs center offering early intervention and transition programs
and shali provide programs and services that will prepare special needs children on
activities in mainstream society.

SEC. 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations - The DepEd and DOH in coordination
with the Department of Interior and Local Government and in consultation with relevant
private sector, practitioners and representatives of the academic community shall
promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 8. Separability Clause. — If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the remainder of the taw or the provision not otherwise affected shall
remain valid and subsisting.

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. — Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to, or
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or 30 amended
accordingly,

SEC. 10. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shail take effect fifteen (15) days after its
complete publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation,
whichever comes earlier.

Approved,