Disability Support Fund Act

TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES JUL 10 P1:57 First Regular Session SENATE RECEIVED BY: S. No. _ Introduced by Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE DISABILITY SUPORT FUND FOR THE EMPOWERMENT, FULL PARTICIPATION AND INCLUSION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN SOCIETY AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR EXPLANATORY NOTE The Philippines is a State Party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which upholds the inherent dignity, individual autonomy, and full and effective participation of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in all aspects of life. In alignment with this global commitment, it is the duty of the State to provide meaningful support to ensure their inclusion and empowerment. While there are existing laws such as the Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities (RA 7277) and its amendments, these have not been sufficient in addressing the daily realities and barriers faced by PWDs, especially in low-income and underserved areas. Many PWDs continue to face systemic discrimination, limited mobility, inadequate access to rehabilitation and assistive technologies, and a lack of income support. All of these hinder their full integration into society. This bill seeks to establish a Disability Support Fund (DSF) to directly address these long-standing gaps. The fund aims to provide regular financial stipends to eligible persons with disabilities, initially prioritizing children and adults with moderate to severe disabilities, and later expanding to all registered PWDs with low income or

significant disability-related costs. The allowance, initially set at Php 2,000 per month, is designed to supplement existing government benefits and defray the higher costs associated with disability, including healthcare, transportation, and human assistance needs. The proposed DSF adopts a phased implementation approach and leverages inter- agency coordination through the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and local government units. It also emphasizes data-driven planning through a robust Disability Data Management System and institutional coordination with the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) and PhilHealth Registry. More than a social protection initiative, this measure affirms the right of all persons with disabilities to live independently and be fully included in their communities. It recognizes disability not as a limitation, but as a social responsibility shared by all. In pursuit of a truly inclusive society, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. RONALD "BATO" DELA ROSA

5) 11.111 Vice of 1.5 TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 25 JUL 10 P1:57 First Regular Session SENATE RECEIVED BY: S. No. 351 Introduced by Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE DISABILITY SUPORT FUND FOR THE EMPOWERMENT, FULL PARTICIPATION AND INCLUSION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN SOCIETY AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This shall be known as the "Disability Support Fund

2 Act".

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The Philippines, as a State Party to the United

Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), recognizes 5 all the rights of persons with disabilities and shall take effective and appropriate 6 measures to respect, protect, and fulfill the full enjoyment by persons with disabilities 7 of these rights such as, but not limited to, access to habilitation and rehabilitation services, participation in socio-economic activities, access to a range of ing home, residential and other community support services, including personal assistance, learning and assistive devices, and technology necessary to support living independently and inclusion in the community, and to prevent isolation or segregation from the community. It is the declared policy of the State to adopt the generally-accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land. It is likewise vital that the State 15 advance social justice in order to end poverty in all its forms, particularly the historical

1 deprivation of the support required by persons with disabilities for their effective 2 inclusion and full participation in society. To attain a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and 4 independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that 5 provide adequate social services, promote full employment, raises the standard of 6 living, and improve the quality of life, appropriate measures in developing social 7 protection programs and allowances that recognize the additional costs associated with disability shall be undertaken. Towards this end, the State shall establish a Disability Support Fund to augment local government units' assistance for their disability-specific and mainstreamed programs and services, targeting persons with disabilities to support their need to access services and new skills, leading to social and economic productivity and allowing them to gain greater independence and become contributing members in nation-building. In pursuit of these ends, disability support assistance shall be extended to indigent persons with disabilities to cover part of the disability-related extra costs generated by their disability-specific needs and barriers resulting from inaccessibility of facilities and services.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. -

a) "Disability" is an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions, referring to the negative aspects of interaction between an individual with health condition and contextual factors. b) "Barriers" are anything that hinders persons with disabilities from enjoying or exercising all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field, on an equal basis with others. Barriers in all its forms encompass inaccessible physical environments and transportation; the unavailability of assistive devices and technologies; inaccessible information both in form and content; nonadaptive means of communication; gaps in service delivery such as

unavailability of personal assistance and sign language interpretation service; discrimination including denial of reasonable accommodation; attitude, prejudice, and stigma in society; programs, policies, and laws infringing on the rights of persons with disabilities as recognized under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; c) "Indigent" as used in this Act, is a person with disability whose income is insufficient for maintenance medications, treatments, and other disability- related extra costs, as identified based on specific criteria to be formulated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the National Council of Disability Affairs (NCDA), and representatives from national organizations of persons with disabilities, in accordance with the guiding principles set forth in Section 2; d) "Impairment" is the description of body structures that are diminished, weakened or damaged. Impairments can be divided into primary and secondary: 1. Primary impairments are motor behaviors that are directly related to changes in any system. Examples: muscle tone, postural stability, motor coordination. Primary impairments are any impairments that are present at birth such as heart defects, endocrine diagnoses, visual impairments. 2. Secondary impairments develop over time and frequently as a result of the primary impairments. Examples: Decreased range of motion, force production and endurance; e) "Persons with Disability" include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others;

f) "Community Support Systems" refers to the combination of services, products, and people that assist persons with disabilities to carry out daily life activities and participate in their communities; g) "Disability and Needs Assessment" refers to the process by which disability of an individual is officially recognized for the purpose of eligibility determination to diverse entitlements. It is based on a human rights model of disability, with a focus on functional limitations, support requirements and barriers restricting participation; Persons who may fall in this definition are all other persons under the disability assessment and determination system issued by the Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) which will be developed under this law and shall also be used in the issuance of the persons with disability ID; h) "Reasonable Accommodation" means the necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments so as not to impose disproportionate or undue burden, and to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy or exercise on an equal basis all human rights and fundamental freedoms; i) "Rehabilitation" refers to re-gaining skills, abilities or knowledge that may have been lost or compromised as a result of acquiring a disability, or due to a change in one's disability or circumstances. Rehabilitation means restoring capacity and ability. This generally applies to an adult who has to re-adapt to society after acquiring a disability; j) "Habilitation" refers to a process aimed at helping people gain certain new skills, abilities, and knowledge. Habilitation involves learning skills that will enable a person to function in society. These kinds of programs usually target children born with disabilities;

k) "Progressive Realization" means undertaking measures to the maximum of its available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation, with a view of achieving progressively the full realization of these rights, without prejudice to those obligations contained in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that are immediately applicable according to international law; 1) "Disability-related extra costs" are the expenses subjected to a person with disability based on disability-specific needs and barriers resulting from inaccessibility of facilities and services. Refers to the direct (e.g., buying assistive device or paying for personal assistance or sign language interpretation service, or extra health care like medicines, more expensive housing or transportation service, etc.) and indirect (e.g., loss of productivity because of longer travel time as experienced by those who need to move by wheelchair as they cannot use the cheaper public transport, family members who stop working to provide care and support to persons with disabilities, etc.), costs as a result of their disability that drives persons with disabilities in situation of poverty, exposure to vulnerability of exclusion or restriction to participation"; m) "Children with Disabilities" include those individuals under the age of eighteen (18) who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis"; n) Disability-related needs" include disability-related medical supplies (e.g., medicines, catheters, diapers), medical-related services (e.g., rehabilitation services, etc.) assistive products, personal assistance, sign language interpreter, higher cost of accessing services because of lack of accessibility (e.g., transportation cost), and others; and

o) "Organization of Persons with Disabilities (OPD) are led, directed and governed by persons with disabilities with a clear majority of their membership being recruited among persons with disabilities themselves. Examples of OPDs include national organizations of women with disabilities, impairment-specific organizations such as national organizations of persons of psychosocial disability, parents representing children with disabilities, cross-disability organizations, specific health conditions recognized under the Philippine law such as patients and survivor of cancer, persons with rare diseases, and all other organizations of persons with disabilities as recognized under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities."

Sec. 4. Disability Support Fund. - The Disability Support Fund aims to address

the gaps in the program implementation currently undertaken at the national and at the local level through programs and projects of the local government and civil society organizations. Local government units and accredited non-government organizations will also be assisted through funding to establish responsive services supporting independent living of persons with disabilities. The Disability Support Fund shall provide individuals with disabilities the 18 opportunity to avail of disability related services and have access to government 19 assistance and services for all. The Disability Support Fund shall have the following components, such as, but not limited to the following: 1. Local Government Unit Establishing a Comprehensive Disability Support Services through Provincial, City and Municipal Persons with Disabilities Affairs Office; 2. Development of affordable and accessible Disability Support Services managed by organizations of persons with disabilities; and 3. Individual Support Allowance for qualified persons with disabilities, identified by the National Disability Assessment and Determination System which shall be developed by a Technical Working Group led by the DSWD, DOFI, DEPED, and the DOLE with diverse representations from Organizations of Persons with Disabilities.

This support shall cover expenses related to disability such as, but not limited 2 to, augmentation of transportation services, food and nutrition, disability support 3 services provided by human interventions, maintenance medicines, rehabilitation 4 services, educational needs, such as but not limited to assistive devices, technology 5 and support equipment, pre-employment and during employment services and access 6 to government assistance and services for all. The Disability Support Fund shall aim to provide a regular stipend to indigent persons with disabilities based on the eligibility criteria to be formulated by the DSWD, 9 the NCDA and representatives from national organizations of persons with disabilities. 10 The initial amount of Two Thousand Pesos (Php 2,000.00) a month per individual beneficiary is set for the Disability Support Fund, which will be indexed to inflation to preserve its positive impact on the standards of living and participation of people with disabilities. This would contribute, in combination with existing social protection programs and discounts to address the higher cost of transportation, housing, nutrition, hygiene and temporary human assistance requirements, among others. For working age adults out of work, it will provide a basic income security and will help cover disability related costs for finding and keeping work. The Program shall be implemented in two (2) phases starting with the existing master list of LGUs who already have the ID: a) Phase 1 - The initial phase of the Disability Support Fund Program, to be implemented in the first three (3) years, shall prioritize provision of stipends to: i. Children with disabilities; ii. Adults with moderate and severe disability, who are facing the highest barriers and disability-related costs; and ili. Persons with disabilities who are recipients of social protection and economic empowerment programs such as but not limited to the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens.

b) Phase 2 - The second phase of the Program, to be implemented in the next 2 three (3) years, shall include all persons with disabilities certified as indigent by the 3 DSWD, based on the eligibility criteria to be formulated under this Act. Provided, That the abovementioned programs and services on counseling, 5 capability-building of social workers, both local and national, and provision of assistive 6 equipment and devices, such as wheelchairs, and prosthetic devices, among others, 7 may be given in addition to the abovementioned Program to indigent persons with disabilities.

Sec. 5. Coverage. - All indigent persons with disabilities, as certified by the

DSWD, based on a human rights approach, shall be covered by the provisions of this Act. Priority shall initially be given to children with disabilities and adults with significant disabilities who are facing the highest barriers and disability-related costs. However, the aim is to eventually cover all registered persons with disabilities who have either no income or have low levels of income as well as persons with disabilities who face disability-related extra costs that deprive them of an adequate standard of living.

Sec. 6. Eligibility. - In determining eligibility to avail of the Disability Support

Fund, the Disability and Needs Assessment System shall be considered, with a focus 19 on functional limitations, support requirements, and barriers to participation. In recognition of the multiple forms of poverty and the extent of disability- related costs required for basic participation, eligibility of persons with disabilities to avail of the Disability Support Fund will be compatible, insofar as practicable, with eligibility and benefits from different social protection and economic empowerment programs such as, but not limited to, the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens, the Fund acting as a top-up for subsidizing disability-related extra costs. Provided, That the DSWD may, in its discretion, adopt additional bases to achieve the objectives of this Act.

Sec. 7. Role of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). -

The DSWD shall be the administrator of the Disability Support Fund. All applications

1 for availing of the Fund shall be lodged with the DSWD. In partnership with the NCDA, 2 organizations of persons with disabilities, all concerned government agencies, local 3 government units thru the PDAO, and non-government organizations shall implement 4 programs and services targeting persons with disabilities. All policies concerning programs and services for persons with disabilities shall 6 be reviewed and enhanced for clarity of operationalization at the local level by the 7 DSWD.

Sec. 8. Disability and Needs Assessment System. - To effectively implement

9 social protection measures targeting persons with disabilities, a Disability Data 10 Management System shall be created and managed by the DSWD, in coordination 11 with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and shall be linked to the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) which aid in the development of poverty-reduction programs from local to the national level. Linkage to the National ID System, and the DOH Persons with Disability Registry, which is mirrored with the PhilHealth Database System shall also be done to provide real-time 16 disability data and subsidized enrolment to PhilHealth insurance.

Sec. 9. Policy on Disability Identification Cards. - The issuance of Disability

Identification Cards pursuant to Republic Act No. 7277, otherwise known as the "Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities," as amended, along with other relevant laws, administrative issuances and local ordinances, shall incorporate the information necessary for the granting of the monthly Disability Support Fund allocation to eligible persons with disabilities.

Sec. 10. Penal Provisions. - The penalties shall apply to the following:

a. Any Person With Disability, or his/her parent or his/her relative of any degree of consanguinity or affinity, or any third person found to be deliberately committing any fraudulent act of enrolling a Person With Disability to the system when a person is not eligible shall suffer the following: i. For the first violation, a fine of not less than Twenty-five thousand pesos (Php 25,000) but not exceeding Fifty thousand pesos (Php 50,000);

Ii. For any subsequent violations, a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php 50,000.00) but not exceeding One hundred thousand pesos (Php100,000.00); and iii. For a third violation, a revocation of any license or business permit; b. Any person, natural or juridical, violating any provision of this Act and its IRR, except violations pertaining to Subsection a of this Section, shall be penalized with a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php 50,000.00) but not exceeding One hundred thousand pesos (Php 100,000.00). If the violator is a corporation, organization or any similar juridical entity, the officials directly involved and responsible shall be liable therefor.

Sec. 11. Monitoring. - The DSWD, in collaboration with representatives of the

Organizations of Persons With Disabilities, is hereby tasked to convene an Inter- 13 Agency Committee to make an annual assessment of the implementation of this Act.

Sec. 12. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the implementation of the

provisions of this Act shali be included in the annual General Appropriations of the DSWD in the year following its enactment into law and thereafter. The allocated 17 budget shall gradually increase in fulfillment of the progressive realization principle.

Sec. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from

19 the affectivity of this Act, the DSWD, in consultation with the Department of the 20 Interior and Local Government, Department of Health, Philippine Statistics Authority, National Council for Disability Affairs, National Anti-Poverty Council, representative/s from registered Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, and other relevant stakeholders from government agencies and non-government organizations, shall issue the necessary rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 14. Report to Congress. - The DSWD shall annually submit a report to

Congress on the status of the implementation of this Act for the purpose of review and recommendation of additional measures necessary for the attainment of the objectives of this Act.

Sec. 15. Suppletory Clause. - The provisions of Republic Act No. 7277,

2 otherwise known as the "Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities," as amended by 3 Republic Act No. 10754 and Republic Act No. 9442, have suppletory effect to the 4 provisions of this Act.

Sec. 16. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is declared

6 unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall 7 remain in force and effect.

Sec. 17. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations

9 and executive orders contrary to or inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 18. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the official gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,