PWD Discount in the Philippines: What Is Covered

Section 32(a), as amended by RA 10754, grants "At least twenty percent (20%) discount and exemption from the value-added tax (VAT), if applicable", on the following goods and services "for the exclusive use and enjoyment or availment of the PWD":

1. Hotels, restaurants and recreation. Fees and charges for services in hotels and similar lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation centers.
2. Admission fees. Theaters, cinema houses, concert halls, circuses, carnivals and other similar places of culture, leisure and amusement.
3. Medicines in all drugstores.
4. Medical and dental services in government facilities, including diagnostic and laboratory fees such as x-rays, CT scans and blood tests, and professional fees of attending doctors, subject to guidelines of the Department of Health (DOH) and PhilHealth.
5. Medical and dental services in private hospitals and medical facilities, under DOH and PhilHealth rules.
6. Fares for domestic air and sea travel.
7. Actual fares for land transportation, such as but not limited to public utility buses and jeepneys, taxis, AUVs, shuttle services and public railways, including the LRT, MRT and PNR.
8. Funeral and burial services for the death of the PWD.

For funerals, the law covers the casket or urn, embalming, the hospital morgue and transport of the body to the burial site in the place of origin, but excludes obituary publication and the cost of the memorial lot. The person who pays the funeral expenses claims the discount by presenting the death certificate.

The VAT computation together with the 20% is set by DOH and BIR rules that were not read for this page, so this page does not compute it.

Section 32 also provides for:

• Express lanes. PWDs get express lanes "in all commercial and government establishments"; where there are none, they must be given priority (Section 32(e)).
• Educational assistance (Section 32(b)) and the continuance of GSIS, SSS and Pag-IBIG benefits "To the extent practicable and feasible" (Section 32(c)).
• Special discounts on basic commodities, which the government may grant "To the extent possible" under guidelines of the DTI and the Department of Agriculture (Section 32(d)).

The amounts of the grocery discount are not in the law itself. According to the DTI page on Joint Administrative Order No. 24-02 (2024), seniors and PWDs get 5% off basic necessities and prime commodities, on purchases of up to ₱2,500 a week, so at most ₱125 a week, with at least four kinds of covered goods. See also Senior citizen discount, which explains the same 5% rule.

The privileges are "available only to PWD who are Filipino citizens", upon submission of any of these as proof:

• an identification card issued by the city or municipal mayor or the barangay captain of the place where the PWD lives;
• the passport of the PWD; or
• a transportation discount fare ID issued by the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP).

The requirements for getting a PWD ID were not read on an official source for this page.

In Drugstores Association of the Philippines v. National Council on Disability Affairs (2016), the Supreme Court upheld rules that let a teacher or the head of a business confirm a disability only for disabilities that are apparent, "because, obviously, the disability is easily seen or clearly visible".

No. The law says the privileges "may not be claimed if the PWD claims a higher discount as may be granted by the commercial establishment and/or under other existing laws or in combination with other discount program/s". The PWD gets the higher discount, not both.

Yes. In the Drugstores Association case, drugstores challenged the 20% discount on medicines. The Supreme Court denied the petition and said "the PWD mandatory discount on the purchase of medicine is supported by a valid objective or purpose".

Establishments may claim the discounts as tax deductions based on the net cost of the goods sold or services rendered, for items (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), (7) and (8) of the list above. Item (4), services in government facilities, is not in that list.

Section 46 of RA 7277, as amended by RA 9442, punishes "Any person who violates any provision of this Act":

If the violator is a corporation or similar entity, its officials directly involved are liable. After a complaint and a hearing, the authorities may also cancel the business permit or franchise of an establishment that does not follow the law.

RA 9442 also added a ban on vilification: no individual, group or community may vilify a PWD in a way that could cause loss of self-esteem (Section 42).

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Jun uses a wheelchair and has a PWD ID from his city mayor's office. He eats at a restaurant with friends. He gets at least 20% off and VAT exemption, if applicable, on his own meal, but not on his friends' meals.

Liza goes to a cinema that has a 30% promo that day. She cannot add the 20% PWD discount on top. She takes the higher discount.

A pharmacy refuses to honor Carlo's PWD ID for his maintenance medicine. A first violation can mean a fine of ₱50,000 to ₱100,000, or six months to two years in jail, or both (Section 46 as amended).

You do not need a lawyer to claim the discount. Talk to one if an establishment keeps refusing it and you want to file a criminal complaint, if you are a business owner facing a complaint, or if a dispute involves a large medical or funeral bill.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines.