Republic Act (RA) No.

10524, An Act Expanding the Positions Reserved for PWDs,

amending for the purpose RA No.7277 (Magna Carta for Persons with Disability) in
April 2013, expanded employment opportunities for PWDs. Its Implementing Rules and
Regulations (IRR) were published on Aug. 15, 2016, the full text of which the Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) circulated through Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 48-
2017 dated 30 June 2017.

Who are the persons with disability?

Under RA 10524, Persons with Disability (PWDs) refer to individuals who suffer long-
term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, upon interaction with
various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal
basis with others.

The seven types of disabilities mentioned in RA No. 7277 are psychosocial disability,
disability due to chronic illness, learning disability, mental disability, visual disability,
orthopedic disability, and communication disability. They are defined in Department of
Health A.O. No.2009-0011 as follows:

Psychosocial Disability — any acquired behavioral, cognitive, emotional, social

impairment that limits one or more activities necessary for effective interpersonal
transactions and other civilizing process or activities for daily living, such as but not
limited to deviancy or anti-social behavior.
Chronic Illness — a group of health conditions that last a long time. It may get slowly
worse over time or may become permanent or it may lead to death. It may cause
permanent change to the body and it will certainly affect the person’s quality of life.
Learning Disability — any disorder in one or more of the basic psychological
processes (perception, comprehension, thinking, etc.) involved in understanding or in
using spoken or written language.
Mental Disability — disability resulting from organic brain syndrome (i.e., mental
retardation, acquired lesions of the central nervous system, or dementia) and/or mental
illness (psychotic or non-psychotic disorder).
Visual Disability — impairment of visual functioning even after treatment and/or
standard refractive correction, with visual acuity in the better eye of less than 6/18 for
low vision and 3/60 for blind, or a visual field of less than 10 degrees from the point of
fixation. A certain level of visual impairment is defined as legal blindness. One is legally
blind when the best corrected central visual acuity in the better eye is 6/60 or worse or
side vision of 20 degrees or less in the better eye.
Orthopedic Disability — disability in the normal functioning of the joints, muscles or
limbs.
Communication Disability — an impairment in the process of speech, language or
hearing, further broken down into two types: (a) Hearing Impairment is a total or partial
loss of hearing function which impede the communication process essential to
language, educational, social and/or cultural interaction; and (b) Speech and Language
Impairment means one or more speech/language disorders of voice, articulation,
rhythm and/or the receptive or and expressive processes of language.
PWDs can further be classified as a Qualified Person with Disability, which includes an
individual with disability who, with reasonable accommodations, can perform the
essential functions of employment position that such individual holds or desires.

For accreditation purposes, PWDs with non-obvious disabilities such as psychosocial,

learning, mental/intellectual, visual and hearing disabilities should secure a certification
from the Department of Health through its regional hospitals, medical centers, and
specialty hospitals attesting to the individual’s impairment.

As provided in the law, equal employment opportunity shall be given to PWDs in the
selection process based on qualification standards for an appointment to a position in
government and requirements set by employers in private corporations. They shall also
be subject to the same terms and conditions of employment, compensation, privileges,
benefits, incentives, or allowances as an able-bodied person.

Employment of ration of PWDs

Government agencies shall reserve at least 1% of their regular and non-regular

positions for PWDs.

Private corporations, on the other hand, who employ at least 100 employees are
encouraged to reserve at least 1% of all positions for PWDs. Those who employ less
than 100 employees are encouraged to hire PWDs.

Incentives for employing PWDs

To promote active participation, private corporations that hire PWDs are entitled to the
following incentives under the IRR:

1. 25% additional deduction from the private corporation’s gross income of the total
amount paid as salaries and wages to PWDs.
To avail of this incentive, private corporations are required to present proof that they
are employing PWDs who are accredited or registered with the Department of Labor
and Employment and Department of Health as to their disability, skills, and
qualifications.

2. Private entities that improve or modify their physical facilities in order to provide
reasonable accommodation for PWDs shall be entitled to an additional deduction from
their net income, equivalent to 50% of direct costs of the improvements or
modifications.

Facility improvement under this incentive should be different from the requirement of
Batas Pambansa (BP) Blg, 344 otherwise known as an Act to Enhance the Mobility of
Disabled Persons by requiring certain buildings, institutions, establishments, and public
utilities to install facilities and other devices. Under BP Blg. 344, buildings, institutions,
establishments, and public utilities are required to install facilities and other devices to
allow the mobility of disabled persons.

The IRR further provides that the conditions of hiring and employment of PWDs should
be made with the welfare of PWDs in mind. This means that accommodation of PWDs
should not impose undue or disproportionate burden, but must ensure the exercise of
equal opportunity for PWDs in all fundamental rights. As may be practicable, a work
schedule given to a PWD should be modified to favor the employee.

Installation of auxiliary aides and assistive devices in a work place should also be
considered to ensure that PWDs are able to perform their assigned task with ease.

RA 10524 and its IRR aim to provide equal work opportunities to PWDs and at the
same time incentivizing the private sector for its participation. More than the incentive,
integrating PWDs in the work force means rehabilitation, self-development, self-
reliance and affirmation of PWDs as productive members of society.