VII. Social and Economic Security Realities
In the aspect of the Social Welfare and Economic Assistance System, the Philippines has to modify the services based on its economic and financial capabilities. In wealthy countries, welfare means the grant of regular pensions, subsidized housing, health and medical insurances, transportation and other benefits.Filipinos with disabilities may tarry yet for years to receive the same. At present however, they can already access primary rehabilitation, vocational and basic education services for free and at times with minimal financial and material assistance. It is not uncommon due to limited resources that benefits are provided according to the economic standings of the families of the beneficiaries.
In 2006, RA 944244 was enacted resulting in the grant of substantial discounts on purchases of goods and availments of services similar to those provided to senior citizens since the 1990s. The widespread respect and compliance of the benefit providers will chiefly depend on whether government creates an effective mechanism for government to share in the burden via tax credit.
In RA 7277 a provision for tax incentive is incorporated relative to the employment of persons with disabilities and expenses for providing access and assistive devices45. However, organizations of persons with disabilities note serious disregard by employers of persons with disabilities right to employment due to the failure of designated agencies to set such tax credit system. This is in addition to the absence of any sanction against non-compliance. A Nova Foundation residence, Manuel Agcaoile (wheelchair user) noted that there is no specific agency within the Department of Health that examine and issue certificate of disability to applicants with disability. He further noted the absence of a particular Section in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that attend to the application for exemption of employer of persons with disabilities.46
- Note #46
- Personal interview of Mr. Lauro Purcil on September 2008
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Nevertheless, RA 9442 maintains more tax holiday provision for business entities and investors aiming to establish service providing homes and support to the sector.47 Personal assistants and caregivers are also granted certain incentives by the law through extra social benefits. In 2008, families with persons with disability as members were granted additional tax exemptions in the income tax structure.However, due to the political pressures of other sectors claiming to be as burdened by the economic realities, the same benefits were eventually granted to all income tax filers.
In RA 7277, auxiliary services such as (1) Qualified interpreters or other effective methods of delivering materials to individuals with hearing impairment; (2) Qualified readers, taped tests, or other effective methods of delivering materials to individual with visual impairments;(3) Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; and (4) Other similar services and actions or all types of aids and services that facilitate the learning process of people with mental disability are provided to persons with disabilities identified as indigents or marginalized.
48 A marginalized person with a disability is defined as someone who cannot access rehabilitation services on his or her own or their family's expense.One must find him or herself within the poverty threshold according to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) measurements. In its study last 2005, NEDAstated that, Economic participation remains out of reach for most persons with disabilities. More than 100,000 employable persons with disabilities are registered with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) but less than 10% of them are in wage employment. The Magna Carta provides that 5% of the contractual personnel of the national government engaged in social development should be reserved for qualified persons with disabilities.49
On employees acquiring disabilities, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for government and the Social Security System (SSS) for the private sector and self employed provide disability related benefits which may include pensions depending on the length of employment and amount of premiums contributed.Severity and prognosis (possibility to be remedied or cured) of disability acquired are factors also considered.
Since most persons with disabilities in the Philippines are never employed, only a meager percentage of the sector could avail of these social security grants. There are no official records on the unemployment rate among persons with disabilities, According to DOLE Officer Evelyn Dacumos,50 since 1994, DOLE has registered 135,317 employable people with disabilities, and has placed or provided employment to 25,682. It has conducted 7 industry dialogues in 7 regions, and has accredited 3 NGOs as PESOs. DOLE has also issued Department Order 222 in 1999, wherein companies employing people with disabilities can get a certification from the DOLE Regional Director, and present this certification to BIR to claim the tax incentives available to them under the law. DOLE also provides ID cards to people with disabilities who voluntarily register in their field offices and network of PESOs nationwide.
Considering that a mere 2 to 3 percent of school aged children with disabilities are able to access the most basic of education51, one can assume that it is extremely difficult for persons with disabilities to gain employment and even to acquire functional skills in livelihood. Ms. Dacumos presented statistics about the hiring of people with disabilities
. Data gathered from the Civil Service Commission showed that there are a total of 4,086 people with disabilities employed by the government all over the Philippines. For its part, DOLE. has employed 48 people with disabilities.
- Note #50
- Excerpt from the presentation of Ms. Evelyn Dacumos on the sympoaium on the UN CRPD Implementation and Monitoring held in Traders Hotel, August 6-7, 2008
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It was only in 2005 Executive Order 417(EO 417)52 when agencies providing technical and skills training were coordinated into a Committee. There are still no reports on how the Committee performed its task of designing relevant programs that will provide universally designed livelihood training for the blind, the deaf and persons with other types of disabilities. During the meeting with the Coordinating Committee, the absence of accessibility features of the training venues as well as the needed assistive devices were highlighted.
The said Executive Order 417 of 2005 is yet in the final stages of its Implementing Rules and Regulations. It aims to give flesh to the earlier described Coordinating Committee of Technical and Livelihood skills training agencies of government via the incorporation of schemes for grants and capital availability to self-help organizations of persons with disabilities. It identifies target markets and sources of materials and capital and designates concerned government agencies according to their respective mandates. Led by the sector of persons with disabilities, the entire operationalization of EO 417’s systems and mechanisms for the full participation of the members of the sector shall persist until the attainment of the objectives. EO 417 shall be monitored through the Oversight Committee of its initiator, the Sectoral Council of Persons with Disability of the National Anti Poverty Commission chaired by the President of the Philippines.
A Magna Carta for Small Enterprise was just enacted into law (February 2009)53 however, aside from its provisions of general application no portion of the law refers to the distinct situations of the cooperatives and other self help organizations of persons with disabilities. This is one of the many examples of legislation that fails to incorporate the distinct concerns of the most marginalized groups in the cooperative community.
- Note #53
- Chan Robles Virtual Law Library
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In 2002, the General Appropriations Act54 mandated that 10 percent of funds for purchasing school desks be reserved for the sector's cooperatives. The provision was then institutionalized. Till this date, the National Federation of Persons with Disabilities Cooperatives declares membership only up to 11 persons with disabilities cooperatives spread all over the country. Over 900 skilled persons with disabilities, mostly orthopedically impaired, are benefiting from the employment the law provides. There are a number of non member cooperatives that have been identified and qualified by the Bids and Awards Committee of the Department of Education. In 2008, Congress allocated PHP500 million for the purchase of school desks. Ten percent of this budget is allocated to the sector's cooperatives.
- Note #54
- Preliminary Provision, Section 1
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Under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), there are four National and Area Vocational Rehabilitation Centers located in four regional centers around the country. They provide skills and technical training to persons with disabilities receiving rehabilitation services. However, it has been noted that most of the crafts and skills targeted by the training programs cannot result in gainful employment nor livelihood activities that can acquire adequate income to support even the minimum living standards of an individual. Doormat making, carpentry, dressmaking, steel and iron crafts and basic computer literacy comprise the list of training curricula. Massage could be a very good source of income generation for the blind and visually impaired persons; however, such is only true in urban areas, depending on the economic situations. Due to this reality, a good number of the trainees end up in the city streets as beggars.
Even with the enactment of the PD No. 156355, otherwise known as the Anti-Mendicancy Act of 1978, where begging in public places is prohibited, persons with disabilities coming from these centers still rely on this means of livelihood. While the Anti Mendicancy Law provides sanctions against the beggars and the syndicates that may be controlling them, it likewise mandates local government units where these beggars reside to create livelihood and sheltered workshops to apprehended mendicants.This provision however is ignored by most of the concerned officials due to scarcity of public funds and the absence of experts on the type of skills needed to ensure that after being provided and acquired, trainees with disabilities could gain living wages or income to forsake the more lucrative livelihood called begging.
- Note #55
- The Lawphil Project
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The CRPD provision on Employment (Article 26) declares certain principles against the common practice in sheltered workshops in the Philippines. While laboring in sheltered workshops, workers with disabilities are perennially considered as clients, objects of continuing rehabilitation and therefore not provided with equal compensation and work benefits to the other laborers. While it is true that sheltered work centers are designed to provide work to persons with disabilities who are most likely not able to be accepted in the mainstream labor market, it is however contrary to the principles of dignity and equality to maintain the practice.
In an interview with a social worker of the Rehabilitation Sheltered Workshop (RSW), Mr. Ernesto Lucio revealed that a sort of a retirement plan is being readied to aged sheltered clients.56 It includes an amount intended to serve as a fund for a small or micro businesses and to those who are not equipped, welfare assistance to provide temporary support till a family comes in to adopt the elderly. There are limited Homes for the Aged under the agency and others are referred to homes managed by non government organizations, funded mostly by benefactors from other countries. There are no permanent social welfare benefits granted to persons with disabilities who never experienced regular employment that will qualify them to the pension plans of Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS).
- Note #56
- Personal interview of Mr. Lauro Purcil March 2009
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Aside from the efforts of providing health and medical care insurance cards where Local Government Units (LGUs) are paying part of the premium, there are still few efforts to grant regular pensions and other financial benefits to persons with disabilities in the country.