Services, establishments where PWDs may avail discounts

The National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) clarified that not all establishments are mandated to give discounts to persons with disabilities (PWDs).

According to Maki Pulido's report on "24 Oras," Jasper Salceda said that as a former cancer patient, the 20% discount on medicine, hospital, diagnostics, and laboratory fees in accordance with the standard benefits and privileges of PWDs had helped him a lot financially.

Besides the medical service discounts, PWDs are granted at least a 20% discount on hotels, restaurants, entertainment centers, and domestic and sea travel. They are also exempted from 12% value-added tax (VAT) and have a 5% discount on prime and basic commodities.

However, a tweet from Jasper recently got viral where he asked why the discounts on the cakes he bought from different establishments were not the same.

“Pumunta po ako sa dalawang cake shop, on the first cake shop, binigyan po nila ako ng 500 peso discount tapos sa ikalawang cake shop, ang binigay lang po sa akin in 17 pesos so naguluhan po ako,” he shared.

The second cake shop then explained that it divided the price into ten to twelve portions and only based the discount on one portion.

Based on the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture's joint Administrative Order, only prime and basic commodities like rice, corn, bread, fresh, dried, and canned fish and other marine sea products, fresh pork, beef, and poultry meat, fresh eggs, fresh and processed milk infant formulas, fresh vegetables, root crops, coffee, sugar, cooking oil, salt, laundry soap, detergents, firewood, candles, and other commodities are included for the PWD discounts.

The NCDA also cleared that the discount does not include cakes and pastries as well as imported noodles, quail eggs, sweeteners, and food supplements.

"Yung 5% is out of the goodness of the establishments. Yung 20% deductible from the tax by the establishment so governemnt yung nagso-shoulder nito," said Mateo Lee, deputy executive director of NCDA.

In addition, only P1,300 worth of basic commodities per week will be covered by the 5% discount, and all purchases must be written in the PWD purchase booklet for monitoring.

Small businesses such as cooperatives, sari-sari stores, food stalls, food courts, and food vendors are also not required to give a 5% discount.

"Ang idea talaga ng mga discounts na ito is to make the poor people access basic necessities and prime commodities," Lee added.—Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA Integrated News