DOH Issues Guidelines for Discounts to Persons with Disabilities
July 13, 2009
Filipinos with disabilities may now avail of discounted medicines and other health related services!
The Department of Health (DOH) recently issued Administrative Order No. 2009-0011 detailing the guidelines for the provision of medical and related discounts and special privileges to persons wtih disabilities pursuant to Republic Act No. 9442 , an act amending the Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities (R.A. No. 7277).
Under the said Administrative Order, persons with disabilities are entitled to a 20% discount in the purchase of branded and unbranded generic medicines from all establishments dispensing medicines for the exclusive use of persons with disabilities; and 20% discount for the cost of medical, dental and rehabilitation services, diagnostic and laboratory fees in service wards and sections of government health facilities in accordance with Clinical Practice Guidelines or Hospital Treatment Protocols and in all private hospitals and medical facilities.
Other discounted services include psychological or developmental tests in service wards of government hospitals; and speech therapies or services in all private hospital and medical facilities.
In the same administrative order, persons with disabilities who are not yet non-paying PhilHealth members may become PhilHealth members if they are sponsored or enrolled by their respective Local government Unit (LGU) or voluntarily enroll themselves as individually paying members.
To avail of the discount, a person with disability must present his//her identification card issued by the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) or by the Local Government Units (LGUs) where he/she resides. In addition, a purchase booklet issued by the LGUs to persons with disabilities for free shall be presented every time a purchase of medicine is made.
45 Responses to “DOH Issues Guidelines for Discounts to Persons with Disabilities”
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re : PWD card, Mercury Drug branch dont accept disabled ID for discount 20% coz they dont have guildeline from their main office. Please advice.
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How do I get and apply for the PWD ID?
Gerald Raymundo
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Greetings! I would just like to comment about the booklet for buying medicine. My son finally got his ID last week but we were told that the booklet is not yet available and wouldn’t be for a while because it is not yet done. We got my son’s PWD ID from the Malabon City Government.
When I went to a drugstore branch also here in Malabon, they said they still can’t honor it because the City Government has not yet issued any implementing guidelines regarding the PWD IDs.
Earlier this afternoon, I went to PCMC to buy my son’s medication and was told that they didn’t honor the PWD ID because it was just in the news and is not yet implemented. I didn’t insist on it because we still didn’t have the booklet but shouldn’t it be already honored in all the establishments? Isn’t PCMC a government run hospital? Shouldn’t they be one of the firsts to have heard and implement these?
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Is basic necessities entitled 20% discount like food? Because yesterday I buy some food in the SM Hypermart and they said it is only 5%. Is it right?
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does a.o 2009-0011 issued by the doh need to be adopted first by sangg. bayan through an ordinance or just implementation by the mun. mayor? how about the revenues regulations no. 01-2009? thanks. more power….
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we would like our association, the st. catherine kaagapay-lingap ng may kapansanan association, pagbilao, quezon, be recognized by your honorable council. what are the procedures and requirements to be submitted? thanks
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meron kaya sumasagot sa mga tanong dito, sana naka published ang sagot para may mga ideas din tayong mapupulot
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i’m a barangay kagawad in barangay manggahan, pasig city early this year i sponsored a barangay resolution entitled “a resolution establishing and strengthening a council on disability affairs of manggahan, pasig city” i just want to ask kung paano kami marerecognized a official partner of your agency para mapabilis ang mga posbile servcies gaya ng registry of pwd, transport discount at iba pang programa para sa mga pwd. maari ba kaming maging extension office ng inyong agency para sa convience ng aming pwd? in pasig we have the highest population of pwd in the city sana matulungan ninyo kami at sana makatulong din kami sa inyo..
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re : PWD card, Mercury Drug branch dont accept disabled ID for discount 20% coz they dont have guildeline from their main office. Please advice.
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The DOH Administrative Order does not provide for a uniform design of the purchase booklet for medicines, unlike the joint DA-DTI Administrative Order for purchase booklets on commodities which provide a format.
Please provide a uniform design so LGUs can issue the booklet, especially in our place of Mabalacat, Pampanga.
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Just by reading these COMMENTS / inquiries, one can presume that these LAWS are not being IMPLEMENTED. It takes one disabled person to make sure that this LAWS are implemented STRICTLY.
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The DOH Administrative Order does not provide for a uniform design of the purchase booklet for medicines, unlike the joint DA-DTI Administrative Order for purchase booklets on commodities which provide a format.
Please provide a uniform design so LGUs can issue the booklet, especially in our place of City of Malabon
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Just checked the Administrative Order was signed last May 2009. Based on the progress in Implementation of Accessibility Law, this new law might just remain in writing. The intention is there – but sorely lacks the strict implementation, no follow through…..sayang…..
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PWD say “we dont want to be treated as disabled person but rather preferred as Lessabled” However, this saying seems to be ignored as we here in Goa, Camarines Sur, is active but low moralled due to overlap by the Senior Citizens Federation….
Yours truly is trying to convince the sector of wrong perception perhaps you could give us assistance on this matter and I lack of documents to support PWD claims especially cause of existence and actualization of priviledges among PWD. I dont want to end for “ACTIVE BUT DISUNITED”
Awaitng your soonest response, I Remain.
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You could buy medicine from the Generics Pharmacy. Or please leave feedback on the Mercury Drug website:
https://www.mercurydrug.com/aboutus/contact.html
Leave a link to this page and the DOH disabilities discount guidelines:
http://www.doh.gov.ph/files/ao2009-0011.pdf
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Please please NCDA help the pwdS LAWS be strictly implemented. Do you have any media exposure so that this local government who are ignoring our rights will be sued for not doing so. Their pedestrians for us look at them, there is the booklets, of DOH until now the mercury ignore it please, human rights where are you?This is so ubsurd! Nobody up to now is doing the fastest this law is since ime and memorial na
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The NCDA has the authority not only to encourage but to demand ALL LGUs/CSWDO to have the OPDA transparent to the people because there is the trend of corruption on the funds of the PWDs, being used, misused,diverse to other programs, We have rights as PWDs. when are you going to move.
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DOH please the AO for the implementation of the PWD Law for hospitals are not being honored, as of today please monitor. Thank you for this website for reading our comments.
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you want us to use our mind to speak, the truth is the government,in the LGUs are using their hands to get the funds of the PWDS, pls demand them to be transparent and you will see their documents.
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im a blind anchorman at dwdd1134 khz am band armed forces radio, our program kasama ka kaibigan aired every monday 1-2pm giving public services to person with disabilities, with my partner co host theresa alpa reyes, with full support to our organization. You can contact as or email us regarding your comments, complains , assistance, we are willing to assist ..please listen to our radio program monday 1pm dwdd1134 khz am band
thank you ,
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we are inviting you to join our radio program kasama ka kaibigan every monday 1-2pm aired over dwdd 1134 khz am band armed forces radio
your blind radio broadcaster rommel c. san pascual and co host theresa alpa reyes, a radio program for person with disabilites
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get in touch
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I have a discounted card through national council for disabled person which was issued 2 years ago and I’m using it for transportation discount… just like to ask do i have to change my identification card since agency change the name of the council.
Thank you very much.
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how do i get and apply for PWD ID??
kim de leon
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how do i get and apply for PWD ID??, for my brother..
kim de leon
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Luke Skywalker Reply:
December 29th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
@kim De Leon, just go to your local DSWD unit and they will assist you.
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I do not know if I got it right. The NCDA was created to promote and protect the welfare of less-abled persons or to be more exact disabled persons. In line with their functions, are they not also supposed to enforce the law? Why is it that almost all establishments do not give discounts to PWDs. Is the NCDA reading the comments here? Do they intend to come out in the open and clarify things? Drawing lang ba ang lahat about the law?
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please send a sample of the purchase booklet of pwd to my email address. thanks
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like any other government project of this rotten government, if the officials dont see any personal profit…..implementation shall be very disorganized if implemented at all! if you look around, we have handicap access to sidewalks which can hardly be considered accessible to any handicapped person leaving our handicapped populace to use the streets instead risking their lives. the motives of this program my be noble but I wish noble people would manage it as well. It is hell to be handicapped in this country to say the least.
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i would like to know the status of employability of the deaf-mute or the disabled persons in the Philippines as part of my thesis study. Thank you..
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would like to ask if supermarkets selling vitamins, supplements and some medicine required to grant the 20% discount?
furthermore, if they sell in bottles of more than 30, which is the monthly consumption of PWD’s, will the discount still be 20% for the whole bottle or just the 30pcs proportionately?
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I just want to express my sentiment with regards to the full implementation of ra 9442. I had a very embarrassing moment when I fall in line with the express lane of one of the dept. store when the cashier refuse me instead they only honor the senior citizens. What an ignorance of the law but it isn’t excuses no one! Most of all, I don’t have the PWD booklet, where is it? Pls……………
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Mercury Drug is limiting purchase to 1-week suppy. I thought the maximum under ao2009-0011 is 1 month? Can mercury drug do this?
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I have read all the comments here which dates back to 2009. I DO NOT FIND ANY RESPONSE AT ALL FROM NCDA. For the nth time, are these queries answered at all???
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Good day!
I am from MSWDO Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental. I would to ask a sample of purchase booklet for PWD and a PWD ID Card.
Thank you.
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Apartment 1B, Rockwell refused to recognize the discount granted to persons with Person With Disability (PWD) Card. According to the restaurant supervisor, the owner, who happens to be lawyer, “has not heard of such discount.” Also, they stressed that they have not received a copy of any memorandum circular. Hence they are not bound to grant any discount with persons with disability. I suggest the LAWYER OWNER should do some research. Also, just because you haven’t received a copy of a memorandum circular, doesn’t mean the law does not apply to you. Smaller restaurants and even fast food chains recognize the PWD Card. Why should Apartment 1B be exempt.
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The R.A. 9442 was signed into Law last 5 years ago, but it sad to note that until now the disabled sector is still facing on the black wall interms of programs and privileges that is supposed to be implemented…. here in our province I never heard of any development as to the implementation of the said R.A. 9442.
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pwede po ba mag apply ng PWD ID ang isang foreigner? permanent na po ang visa nya dito sa Pilipinas.
salamat po
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I was diagnosed to have chronic kidney disease on December of 2010 and since then was on dialysis. We at the dialysis center here in cebu where i am having my dialysis sessions just found out about this law 2 weeks ago. Just recently we got our ID to avail for the discounts due to us. To our dismay, we are not given the full discount of 20% for a dialysis session but rather a 150 pesos fixed rate per session was given to us. Per session cost us 2,850 pesos not mentioning the doctors professional fees of 450 pesos and medicines given after every session for more than 1000 pesos depending on the brand. Getting a 20% discount per,session is already a big help for us when most of us have it 3 times a week. And just 2 days ago, i bought my medications from a pharmacy and did not give me the discount. I spend more or less 2,000 pesos of medicines a week.
Dialysis sessions is already draining our pockets for we cant work or earn a living for we are in the hospital 4 hours a day 3 times a week and most of the days spent lying down to rest. Some patients die because they cant afford to pay for dialysis. We are very happy with this law for at least can exrend whatever savings or earning to be in dialysis.
Please advise and help us with our predicament
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We recently purchased some medicines and vitamins being taken by my son who was diagnosed with autism from mercury drugstore. We showed the pwd id, the booklet and the prescription of the doctos. We were informed that the medicines including the vitamins are not among their list of medicines subject to the 20% discount. The reason given to us was the medicines are not therapeutic in nature.
Can anyone verify if there is a new rule to support this because i cannot seem to find any?
I find this frustrating given the diagnosis of my son. The medicines being taken are supposed to improve his brain development so what is the basis used by mercury in classifying the medicines taken by PWD. Isnt this the purpose of the doctors and is already evidenced by the signed prescriptions? Why cant we enjoy even the discount for vitamins?
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What discount can be provided to a pwd who died ?
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are children of disabled person entitled to 20% discounts too?
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please give advise to some of the hospitals who doesnt give 20% discount on the PWD Id holder…tnx
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pls. send us a hard or soft copy of this DOH Administrative Order 2009-0011.. we badly need this for the implementation.
for a hard copy send it to:
Nelberto Lasquites
PDAO Head
City Hall Bldg, Lawaan II, City of Talisay, Cebu
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hi–the distributor of my medication gives a discount but refuses to waive the VAT which is a significant amount considering the cost of my medication. is this acceptable? hope you can enlighten me. my maintenance medicine is not available in drugstores but solely thru the distributor to whom the pharma dispenses it. thank you.
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