MANILA, Philippines –In a push to provide direct support to indigent persons with disabilities (PWDs), Senator Imee Marcos has proposed a P500 monthly allowance for individuals with severe disabilities.
The announcement was made during her sponsorship speech on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, where she called for amendments to the Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities (Republic Act 7277).
The proposal was detailed in a press release issued by Senator Marcos, which underscored the inadequacies of the current law.
According to Marcos, the Magna Carta primarily benefits PWDs with the purchasing power to avail of its provisions.
“Although the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons provides numerous benefits and privileges, these are mostly enjoyed by those who, to a certain extent, have the necessary purchasing power,” she stated.
The senator stressed that the P500 stipend would directly address the urgent needs of the most vulnerable.
“The 500-peso monthly stipend is a huge help to our poverty-stricken PWDs to aid in their daily expenses,” Marcos explained.
She cited 2020 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which recorded 13 million PWDs in the country, and additional figures from the Department of Health (DOH) identifying approximately 593,911 individuals as severely disabled.
In the press release, Marcos criticized inefficiencies in government resource allocation, citing mismanaged funds in other sectors as evidence of the need for better prioritization.
“If billions can be spent on flood control projects with questionable effectiveness, and medicines and food are left to spoil in storage, why can’t we allocate a portion of that to support marginalized PWDs?” she argued.
The senator’s proposal has sparked hope among disability advocates, who view it as a step toward addressing the economic challenges faced by PWDs in the Philippines.
However, its successful implementation would require a dedicated funding source, which Marcos suggested could be achieved by reallocating misused government resources.
The amendment will now move forward for deliberation in the Senate, with advocates urging for its prompt passage to deliver vital assistance to the country’s most vulnerable PWDs.
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