A proposal that would give persons with disability (PWD) a cash gift of P1,000 on their birthday has been approved by a committee at the House of Representatives.
The House Special Committee on Persons with Disability approved the bills filed by Magdalo Party List Representative Manuel Cabochan III, who sought the grant of P1,000 to registered PWDs as birthday gift.
"PWDs remain as one of the most vulnerable sectors of society. Given the high percentage of persons with a disability, there is a need for more social protection measures to be granted to them. Moreover, PWDs continue to bear exorbitant expenses because of their conditions," Cabochan said in the bill.
Citing the 2016 National Disability Prevalence Survey, he said disability prevalence was recorded at 12 percent for Filipinos aged 15 and older. From this number, 47 percent experience moderate disability, while 23 percent have mild disabilities.
He further said that older generations with almost one-third of the population aged 60 or older have severe disability.
Under the bill, the birthday cash gift (BCG) shall be released to the PWDs within their birthday month. Their guardians or attorney-in-fact can also receive the cash gift on their behalf.
The cash gift applies only to Filipino PWDs as defined under the Magna Carta for PWDs. The bills also states that the beneficiaries must be registered voter in their locality and registered with the PWD Affairs Office in their local registry.
The bill also provides penalty of P10,000 to P20,000 for person or entities who will impersonate PWDs or their representatives, in addition to civil, administrative or criminal charges.