The House Committee on Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) on Wednesday, June 16 approved in principle the distribution of P750 monthly health grant to all PWDs to augment their daily subsistence as they face the devastating effects of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID 19) crisis.
Approval came during the committee hearing conducted by the House panel to deliberate on various pending bills aimed at benefiting the over 1.44 million Filipinos with various disabilities.
Authored by committee chairperson and Negros Occidental Rep. Ma. Lourdes T. Arroyo, approval of House Bill 7180 or the “COVID-19 Emergency Health Grant for PWD Act” drew the support of various government agencies and non-government organizations represented in the committee deliberations on Wednesday.
Arroyo welcomed the support given to her bill, saying that passage of the measure will help ease the unwanted economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to PWDs.
HB 7180 provides for the distribution of emergency health grant to PWD’s during the COVID-19 crisis.
Beneficiaries of the cash assistance will be PWDs registered with the Philippine Statistics Office, National Council for Disability Affairs and Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Arroyo said the distribution of the cash grant will follow the same cash transfer mechanism being observed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Arroyo underscored the need to grant cash aid to PWDs as they have been identified to belong to the “sectors vulnerable to the socio-economic impact” of the community quarantine measures being implemented by government.
“Sadly, disability s not accounted for in existing anti-poverty measures of the government,” the lawmaker said.
She noted that PWD’s were among the eligible beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program of government but “a significant number of PWDs” did not receive the benefits that should have been given them under the SAP.
“In addition, no procedure was put in place to allow PWDs or households with persons with disabilities to obtain the documents needed to qualify as eligible beneficiaries during the COVID-19 crisis,” lamented Arroyo.
Citing data coming from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Arroyo said 12 percent of Filipinos aged 15 and older or about 12 million individuals base don the 2015 Census already had severe disabilities in 2016. Meanwhile, the 2010 census recorded a total P1.44 million Filipinos with disabilities,” she stated.