BACOLOD City Councilor Em Legaspi Ang has proposed a resolution urging all establishments in Bacolod City to strictly implement Republic Act No. 9442.
Republic Act No. 9442 is an act mending Republic Act 7277, otherwise known as the "Magna Carta for Disabled Persons and for other purposes" and granting additional privileges and incentives and prohibitions on non-verbal ridicule and vilification against persons with disability.
Republic Act No. 9442 was issued on April 30, 2007, an act amending Republic Act No. 7277 otherwise known as the "Magna Carta for Disabled Persons."
It entitles persons with disability to avail of at least 20 percent discount on admission fees charged by theatres, cinema houses and concert halls and other similar places of culture and leisure, on purchase of medicines and on medical and dental services, including laboratory fees, and on fares for domestic air and sea travel and public railways, skyways and buses
The act also entitles PWDs to educational privileges and, to the extent possible, special discounts on purchase of basic necessities and prime commodities in supermarkets and grocery stores.
The Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9442 were already promulgated to prescribe the procedures and guidelines for its implementation in order to facilitate compliance with the act, and to achieve its objectives.
However, Ang noted that there are still a number of establishments in Bacolod City that do not grant discounts to PWDs, pursuant to Section 32 (j) of RA No. 9442. Thus, her resolution included a directive addressed to the City Legal Office - Ordinance Enforcement Unit and the Department of Social Services and Development to notify all establishments and monitor their compliance with RA No. 9442.