Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Monday reiterated his appeal to the leadership of House of Representatives not to keep “hanging” the hopes of persons with disabilities to benefit from his “malasakit” (compassionate) measure exempting them from the payment of 12 percent value-added tax on certain goods and services.
Romualdez, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution Association, said his House Bill 1039 is an equalizing measure as this would accord PWDs exactly the same privilege being enjoyed by senior citizens who are exempted from VAT payment.
“The proposed law grants 12 percent VAT exemption to PWDs on certain goods and services. My bill will put PWDs on equal footing with senior citizens who are already exempted from VAT payment on top of their 20 percent discount,” Romualdez pointed out, referring to Republic Act [RA] 7277, otherwise known as the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability” as amended by RA No. 9442 giving PWDs 20 percent discount.
Romualdez issued his statement after organizations of PWDs have sought “malasakit” (compassion) from Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. by transmitting to Malacañang the PWD bill for the public to know whether President Benigno Aquino III will sign it into law or suffer the fate of vetoed Social Security System bill.
But Belmonte had earlier expressed belief that President Aquino will not veto the measure.
Belmonte said he believes that the President would have a ‘heart’ for the country’s three million PWDs who stand to be the beneficiaries of Romualdez’s bill once passed into law.
Congressmen Jonathan de la Cruz of Abakada party-list and Gus Tambunting of Parañaque, in separate interviews with The Standard, said they are confident that the PWD bill will be signed by the President.
“I am hopeful [that the President will sign the PWD bill]. After all, this administration has always claimed it is for the poor, marginalized and downtrodden,” de la Cruz, member of Romualdez’s The Bloc, said.
Tambunting, of the United Nationalist Alliance, backed Romualdez’s HB 1039 even as he also appealed to the ‘kind heart’ of the President for the PWD bill.
“We hope the President will sign it, as it is something that would help uplift the living conditions of our PWDs,” Tambunting said. “If he can bend over backwards and issue and EO to allow pay hikes for government employees, I surely hope he can do he same for our less fortunate brothers and sisters who are PWDs,” he added.
PWD groups led by Manuel Agcaoili, president/chief operating officer of Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Inc. (TWH), and Emer Rojas, Cancer Alleviation Network on Care Education and Rehabilitation (Cancer) party-list nominee, said Belmonte has no good reason to keep Romualdez’s HB 1039 at the Bills and Index Service of the House after he signed it along with Senate President Franklin Drilon who is running for reelection and House Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap.
The House’ Bills and Index Service, headed by Director Alfredo Recella, was reportedly evading the media and PWD stakeholders’ inquiries on the status of the PWD bill after Director Dante Roberto Maling of the House Secretary General’s office allegedly sent a word two weeks ago to hold the transmittal of the PWD measure to Malacanang.