National Unity Party (NUP) president and former Camarines Sur Gov. LRay Villafuerte has reminded local government unit (LGU) officials that establishments and agencies in their respective localities cannot deny or withhold the discounts due persons with disability (PWDs) under the law even if the authenticity of the government-issued PWD identified cards cannot be ascertained or confirmed at the time these are presented to avail of such privileges.
Villafuerte noted that in a new legal opinion, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has informed the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) that the denial by establishments of the law-provided 20% discounts and valued added tax (VAT)-free privileges of PWDs just because the veracity of the IDs issued by LGUs or the national government attesting that they are PWDs cannot be confirmed at the time of their presentation, violates both Republic Act (RA) No. 10754 and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR).
“Based on the five-page legal opinion issued by the DOJ in January, establishments cannot deny PWDs their 20% discount and 12% VAT-free privileges on the ground that the authenticity of the PWD ID cards presented to agencies, restaurants, shops or stores are doubtful because these cannot be ascertained at the time of their presentation by the supposed beneficiaries,” said Villafuerte, who, as incumbent Bicol congressman, has co-authored various laws or introduced pending bills benefitting PWDs, senior citizens and solo parents.
Villafuerte had also reminded establishments of their duty to keep law-mandated express or priority lanes for PWDs in their facilities, also based on another DOJ legal opinion, this time on their privilege of, or right to, speedy official or business transactions.
In an opinion released to the NCDA, DOJ Undersecretary and Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Raul Vasquez stressed that “the denial and withholding of PWD benefits and privileges by reason of unverified PWD card constitutes a violation of the rights of PWDs to aval of the said benefits and privileges,” as provided for in RA 10754, or the “Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of PWDs,” and this law’s IRR, Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte said that Vasquez, in this legal opinion, pointed out that a perusal of both RA 10754 and its IRR revealed that “verification of a PWD ID card is not required before the benefits and privileges may be availed of by a PWD.”
The only requirement for PWDs to avail of the privileges under RA 10754 is for them to be Filipino citizens and present PWD ID cards issued by the LGUs or national government offices, Villafuerte said, in citing the DOJ opinion.
According to Vasquez, he said, Section 1 of RA 10754 provides that such privileges are available only to PWD who are Filipino citizens upon their submission of any of the following as proof of his or her entitlement thereto:
· A PWD ID issued by the city or municipal mayor or the barangay chairperson of the place where the PWD resides;
· An ID issued by the Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) or the City or Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO or MSWDO) of the place where he or she resides;
· The passport of the concerned PWD; or’
· An ID issued by the NCDA.
The DOJ issued this legal opinion upon the request of NCDA OIC and Deputy Executive Director Dandy Victa who had asked the Department on whether it was “legally permissible” for establishments or agencies to deny and withhold the privileges just because the authenticity of the IDs cannot be verified immediately.
Victa explained to the DOJ in a formal letter that he had sought the Department’s legal opinion as establishments had raised concerns with regard to instances when PWD ID cards presented appear suspicious or cannot be verified immediately for authenticity.
Vasquez said that although the verification of the PWD IDs is being done through the PWD Registry maintained by the Department of Health (DOH), such a directory or listing “does not yet contain the complete registry of PWDs in the country for various reasons.”
Hence, said Vasquez, “denial or withholding of PWD benefits and privileges due to unverified PWD ID cards or when the verification results to ‘no records found’ in the registry would undoubtedly defeat the purpose of the law.”
Vasquez said that while the NCDA “aims to ensure that all qualified PWDs can access their rightful benefits, NCDA also recognizes the importance of addressing legitimate concerns from stakeholders, including LGUs, this issue will enable NCDA to provide accurate advisories to stakeholders and ensure compliance with the law while protecting the rights of PWDs.”
In statutory construction, the rule states that “when the law is clear, interpretation does not lie—only application,” the rationale being that “when the language of the law is clear and unequivocal, the law must be taken to mean exactly what it says,” Vasquez said.
“A statute, being the will of the legislature, should be applied in exactly the way the legislature has expressed itself clearly in the law. The clear, unambiguous and unequivocal language of a statute precludes the court from construing it and gives it no discretion but to apply the law,” he said.
Moreover, he said, some of the existing guidelines issued by pertinent government agencies “provide that mere submission or presentation of a PWD ID card and other pertinent requirements, if applicable, would suffice in order for a PWD to avail of the benefits and privileges.”
These guidelines include Administrative Order (AO) No. 2017-0008, Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 01, s. 2022, and Joint DTI-DA-DOE AO No. 17-01, s. 2017.
As a social legislation aimed to protect the rights of PWDs, the objective of RA 10754 is “to provide PWDs the opportunity to participate fully into the mainstream of society by granting them at least 20% discount and exemption from the VAT on the sale of certain goods and services identified under RA 9442, or the amendatory law ro RA 7277, or the “Magna Carta for PWDs.”
Vasquez said that this issue “was discussed during an inter-agency meetings with NCDA, DOH and other relevant agencies. As we understand it, verification is done by checking whether the information contained in the PWD ID card presented exists in the PWD Registry, which is currently being maintained by the DOH. However, the said existing PWD Registry does not yet contain the complete registry of PWDs in the country for various reasons. As such, denial or withholding of PWD benefits and privileges due to unverified PWD ID card or when the verification results to
In light of a separate legal opinion issued in October 2024, the DOJ, Villafuerte last year reminded restaurants, hotels and other establishments offering food and beverages that the 20% discount plus 12% VAT exemption privilege of PWDs apply to the total cost of meals determined for the exclusive consumption of these PWD-customers, whether their ordered items are for dine-in or takeout.
The DOJ clarified in this 2024 Opinion No. 45 that the food and beverage purchases of PWDs, regardless of quantity or whether the volume or size of the orders are for single consumption or for sharing, are all subject to the 32% markdown—20% discount plus 12% VAT exemption due PWDs by law—provided it is clearly determined that these are for the exclusive use of the PWD cardholders, Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte had also reminded establishments of their duty to keep law-mandated express or priority lanes for PWDs in their facilities, also based on another DOJ legal opinion, this time on their privilege of, or right to, speedy official or business transactions.
Based on the separate views of the DOJ in its Opinion No. 42 issued in September 2024 and Opinion No. 45 issued last October, all PWDs are entitled under RA 10754 not only to the 20% discount and VAT exemption on their food and beverage purchases but also to the use of priority or express lanes in all private and government establishments where they have transactions.
In DOJ Opinion 42, Vasquez stressed that RA 10754 mandated the provision of special lanes to cover all transactions of PWDs in these establishments.
In the absence of physical express lanes in enterprises, Villafuerte said that the DOJ stressed in DOJ Opinion 42 that these establishments should nonetheless give priority to PWDs who have transactions in their respective places of business.
Villafuerte has introduced a measure legislating a monthly disability allowance of P2,000 each for PWDs to help them cope with the ever rising cost of living and support their integration into—and full participation in—society.
In House Bill (HB) No. 8223, the former governor sought the establishment of a Disability Support Allowance Program (DSAP) under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to serve as a social protection measure to enable PWDs to fully integrate into society.
