COMPLIANCE OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES TO

R.A. 10524 AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON OVER-ALL COMPANY PERFORMANCE

An Undergraduate Thesis
Presented to
The School of Civil, Environmental and Geological Engineering
Mapúa Institute of Technology
Intramuros, Manila

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree of

Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering and Management

By

Mark C. Castro

Jinky R. Nuñez

Cielo Mary Anne M. Posadas

June 27, 2015

 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of the study is to analyze the compliance of a government

construction agency namely the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH);
and a private construction company (namely?) to R.A. 10524 also known as “An Act
Expanding the Positions Reserved for Persons with Disability” as amended by Section 5
of R.A. 7277 also known as “An Act Providing for the Rehabilitation, Self-Development
and Self-Reliance of Disabled Person” and their Integration into the Mainstream of
Society and for other purposed as amended by Section 1 of R.A. 10524 (An Act
Expanding the Positions Reserved for Persons with Disability).

This study aims to:

1. determine the incentives and/or benefits that the DPWH and the private
construction firm could avail by employing persons with disabilities and partaking
in the promotion of its welfare;
2. identify appropriate policies and practices in the workplace to support disabled
persons;
3. discern the implications of R.A. 10524 on project execution, revenue generation,
and project efficiency, and;
4. outline strategies adopted by DPWH and the private construction firms in order to
assimilate disabled persons in the workplace.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

The focus of this study is on the amenability of DPWH and the private
construction firm to R.A. 10524. The study will identify persons with disabilities who are
currently involved and working in DPWH and in the construction firm. This will also
endorse position in a construction firm that a person with disability can apply for. The
data to be used will be obtained from documents, as well as interviews, which the
researchers will obtain from associated Government agencies such as The Department
of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and the
monitoring body for the RA’s Implementing Rules and Regulations namely the National
Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA). The study will also introduce plans, equipment,
and devices that can be adopted for the PWD.

The study will only concentrate on the involvement of PWDs in the construction
company, and the implications of hiring PWD in terms of the project execution, efficiency
and revenue. Hence, the study will not include employment discrimination, as well as
the perspectives of the employer in hiring PWD.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In the Philippines, there are a lot of developmental project happening nowadays

making construction firms in demand. With this increasing demand in construction
projects, construction firms will need a lot of construction workers.

However, with the demand for construction workers, construction firms need to
develop a team of skilled and reliable construction laborers they can depend on to
complete projects on time and within budget.

They look for a particular set of necessary skills and abilities hiring. Some of this
basic qualifications include physical strength and stamina, manual dexterity and
coordination, strong reading and math skills, building and mechanical knowledge, and
having an excellent vision and depth perception. Given these basic skills and abilities, a
person with disability is seemingly not qualified.

Once can infer that the probability of employment discrimination is widespread in

the country especially for persons with disability specifically when they looking a job. As
a response, Republic Act No. 10524 is crafted and enacted to cater to the employment
of PWD.
 Republic Act No. 10524, also known as “An Act Expanding the Positions
Reserved for Persons with Disability”, is an act expanding the positions reserved for
persons with disability. It is the amendment of Republic Act No. 7277, as amended,
otherwise known as the “Magna Carta for Persons with Disability”. This law was made
to ensure the provision of equal opportunity for employment; in which no person with
disability shall be denied to any opportunities suitable for his/her skills.

The researchers are motivated to conduct this study due to the inequality and
discrimination against persons with disabilities in the Philippines.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Persons with disabilities in the Philippines are not prioritized nor recognized
during the hiring process, especially in private sectors.

As stated in Republic Act 10524, they have rights and privileges in terms of equal
opportunity for employment. Private companies that will implementing this law will be
granted incentives by the government such as a deduction from their gross income
equivalent to 25% of the total amount of tax paid. Similarly, private sectors that will
improve or create a facility for PWD shall also be entitled to an additional deduction
from their net taxable income an equivalent of 50%.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Person with Disability (PWD) - are those suffering from restriction or different abilities,
as a result of a mental, physical or sensory impairment, to perform an activity in the
manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.

Republic Act (RA) - is a piece of legislation used to create policy in order to carry out
the principles of the Constitution.

Handicap – refers to a disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from an impairment

or disability that limits or prevents the function or activity that is considered normal given
the age and sex of individual.
Impairment – is any loss, diminution or aberration of psychological, physiological, or
anatomical structure or function.

Disability – A physical or mental impairment that substantially limit one or more

psychological or anatomical function of an individual or activities of such individual.

UNCPD – United National Convention Person’s with Disability

CPH – Census of Population and Housing

ILO – International Labor Organization

DPWH – Department of Public Works and Highways

BIR – Bureau of Internal Revenue

DOLE – Department of Labor and Employment

RBI – Resources for the blind

Magna Carta – Also called Magna Carta Libertatum is a document constituting a

fundamental guarantee of rights and privileges

NCR – National Capital Region

IDE – Institute of Developing Economies

PIDS – Philippine Institute for Development Studies

CSC- CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

ECC – Employees Compensation Commission

ECP – Employees Compensation Program

KaGabay – Katulong at Gabay sa Manggagawang may kapansanan

GSIS – Government Service Insurance System

SSS – Social Security System

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Persons with disabilities are members of the Philippine society; hence, they have
the same rights and privileges to be employed as other abled people. One of these
rights is to have a proper job dependent on their skills and abilities they still have.

To cater to this, R.A. No. 10524 encourages both private public companies
especially in construction industry to hire persons with disabilities and apportion at least
one percent of its workforce to PWDs.

This study will serve as an aid to PWD still trying to live normally; thus, still
looking for jobs particularly in construction firms.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Disability is an evolving concept. It results from the interaction between persons

with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and
effective participation in society on an equal basis with others (UN Convention on the
rights of persons with disabilities, 2006).
In the constitutional definition provided in Section 4 of Republic Act 7277 or the
Magna Carta for Persons with Disability, ‘disability’ is having a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more psychological, physiological, or
anatomical function of an individual or activities of such individual, records of such
impairment; or being regarded as having such impairment.
The issue of disability goes beyond physical limitation. It includes the barriers
brought about by environmental and attitudinal factors, which hinder full participation in
the society. According to the WHO (2011), disability is defined as an ‘interaction’
meaning that it is not a characteristic attributed to a person.
 Moreover, persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical,
mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers
may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others
(Article 1 UNCPD, 2006). The definition of PWDs provided by RA 7277, according to
Katipunan ng Maykapansanan sa Pilipinas, and Disability Rights Promotion
International (2009), includes even people not traditionally considered as disabled such
as those with psychological and learning disabilities, or those whose disabilities do not
manifest or cannot be seen instantly.

Consequentially, persons with disabilities are ones of the misrepresented sectors

in the society. There is a call that their rights, particularly in opportunities for
employment must be given utmost importance. In line with this, the Civil Service
Commission Memorandum Circular (No?) (2014) calls on all heads of government
agencies to support the implementation of Section 5 of RA 10524 by giving PWDs an
equal access to work opportunities within their respective agencies.

Thus, all government agencies are earnestly encouraged to hire PWDs in their
respective offices not only to observe the Section 5 of RA 10524 but also to give PWDs
the same opportunities as non-PWD.

Furthermore, persons with disabilities often face lack of work opportunities or low
wages compared to non-disabled persons. The International Labour Organization (ILO)
estimates that people with disabilities represent 10 per cent of the world’s population, or
some 650 million people worldwide and approximately 470 million are of working age.
 In the
Philippines, based on
a survey conducted by
the Census of
Population and
Housing (2010, CPH),
about 16 per thousand
of the country’s
population have
disabilities. Of the 92.1
million household
population in the
country, 1,443
thousand persons or 1.57 percent had disability. The recorded figure of persons with
disability (PWD) in the 2000 CPH was 935,551 persons, which was 1.23 percent of the
household population.

Among the 17 regions, Region IV-A had the highest number of PWD at 193
thousand. This was followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 167 thousand
PWD. The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), on the other hand, had the lowest
number of PWD at 26 thousand.

Ten regions had proportion of PWD higher than the national figure. These were
Region VI (1.95 percent), Region IVB and Region V (both 1.85 percent each), Region
VIII (1.75 percent), Region II (1.72 percent), Region I (1.64 percent), CAR (1.63
percent), Region XI and Region VII (both 1.60 percent each), and CARAGA (1.58
percent) (see Table 1).
 A. Labour Force Participation1
In spite of the various efforts carried out by the government in providing
full and productive employment to PWDs, it seems that employment
opportunities for this segment of the population are still limited. Schelzig (2005)
noted that out of more than 100,000 employable PWDs that are registered with
the DOLE, only less than 10 percent are wage employed. A pioneering survey on
the socioeconomic conditions of PWDs in selected cities in Metro Manila, which
was conducted in August 2008 jointly by the Institute of Developing Economies
(IDE) and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), revealed that
slightly more than half of the PWD respondents have income-generating
job/business.
1.
The mode of labor force participation is thus defined as follows: (1) fully employed – a working aged (15-70) person who worked
for pay or profit for at least an hour during the reference period, and who did not look for additional work; (2) underemployed – a
working-aged (15-70) person who worked for pay or profit for at least an hour during the reference period, but was still looking for
additional work; (3) unemployed – a working-aged (15 70) person who had no job/business but was looking for work during the
reference period; and, (4) not part of the labor force – a working-aged (15-70) person who had no job/business and not looking for
work during the reference period.

Out of those with job/business, almost 50 percent engage themselves

(either full-time or part-time) into other small-scale income-generating activities,
 which are usually under informal arrangements. Meanwhile, around 25 percent of
the PWD respondents rely merely on supports from family members/friends,
benefits from the government, or even from begging.

B. Employing Persons with Disability

In Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 7277, Rule II Section 1.

Equal Opportunity2 for Employment states that “Opportunity for suitable
employment shall be open to all qualified disabled persons. Efforts shall be
exerted to provide disabled persons equal opportunity in the selection process
based on qualification standards prescribed for an appointment to a position.”
Hence, no disabled persons shall be denied access to opportunities for suitable
employment. If a PWD is qualified, he/she shall be subjected to the same terms
and conditions of employment and the same compensation, privileges, benefits,
fringe benefits, incentives or allowances as a qualified able-bodied person.

In year 2012, the Fifteenth Congress of the Philippines mandated the RA

105243, states that “At least one percent (1%) of all positions in all government
agencies, offices or corporal ions shall be reserved for persons with disability:
Provided, That private corporations with more than one hundred (100)
employees are encouraged to reserve at least one percent (1%) of all positions
for persons with disability.”

2.
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE REHABILITATION, SELF-DEVELOPMENT AND SELF RELIANCE OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AND THEIR
INTEGRATION INTO THE MAINSTREAM OF SOCIETY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSED

3.
AN ACT EXPANDING THE POSITIONS RESERVED FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7277, AS
AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE MAGNA CARTA FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY

C. Incentives for the Employer

 In year 2014, the Department of Labor and Employment Employees
Compensation Commission (DOLE-ECC) says companies employing PWDs may
avail of tax incentives. Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, Chairman of the
Board of the Employees Compensation Commission, an attached agency of the
DOLE, reminded employers who employ persons with work-related disabilities
(PWRDs) to avail of tax incentives under R.A. 7277, otherwise known as Magna
Carta for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

According to Baldoz (year), "The Employees’ Compensation Program’s

primary beneficiaries--persons with work- related disabilities--are entitled to the
benefits provided under R.A. 7277, thus, their employers can avail of the tax
incentives accorded them by the said law."

Relative to this, Secretary Baldoz had directed the ECC to include in its
ECP advocacy seminars nationwide the benefit of the tax incentive to employers
to encourage their active participation in promoting the welfare of PWDs and to
ensure gainful employment for qualified persons with disabilities, including
persons with work-related disabilities.

ECC Executive Director Stella Zipagan-Banawis, in an update report to

the Secretary, said that persons with work-related disabilities who availed of EC
benefits through ECC’s implementing agencies, the GSIS and SSS, and those
who availed of the ECC's Katulong at Gabay sa Manggagawang may
Kapansanan (KaGabay) Program were either re-hired by their previous
employers or hired by new ones. On these cases, the ECC has informed the
employers that they can avail of tax incentives provided under R. A. 7277.

Section 8 of RA 7277 provides that private entities employing persons

with disabilities (PWDs) who meet the required skills or qualifications, either as
regular employee, apprentice, or learner, shall be entitled to an additional
deduction from their gross income, equivalent to 25 percent of the total amount
paid as salaries and wages to persons with disabilities.
 However, such entities must present a certification from the Department of
Labor and Employment that the PWDs are under their employ and a certification
from the Department of Health as to his disability. The DOLE's regional offices
issue the DOLE certification. The said law further provides that entities that
improved their physical facilities in order to provide reasonable accommodation
for PWDs shall also be entitled to an additional deduction from their net taxable
income, equivalent to 50 percent of the direct costs of the improvements or
modifications. This, however, does not apply to improvements or modifications of
facilities required under Batas Pambansa Bilang 344, also known as the
Accessibility Law.

In RA 7277, a provision for tax incentive is incorporated relative to the

employment of persons with disabilities and expenses for providing access and
assistive devices. Yet, organizations of persons with disabilities note serious
disregard by employers of persons with disabilities’ right to employment due to
the failure of designated agencies to set such tax credit system. This is in
addition to the absence of any sanction against non-compliance. A Nova
Foundation residence, Manuel Agcaoile (wheelchair user) noted that there is no
specific agency within the Department of Health that examine and issue
certificate of disability to applicants with disability. He further noted the absence
of a particular Section in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (B.I.R.) that attends to
the application for exemption of employer of persons with disabilities. 4

4.
Personal Interview of Mr. Lauro Purcil on September 2008
 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

75% of the research data that the researchers have gathered are from private
and public sectors that strictly follow and apply the R.A 10524. These research data
employed on these sectors are frequently in descriptive form—describing the
characteristics and nature of the study conducted.

One source of these data is the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA).
They are widely known for monitoring and mandating policies and programs concerning
people with disabilities.

Another one of our source is the Department of Works and Highways (DPWH)
which is responsible for the planning, design, construction and maintenance of
infrastructure and other public works. They serve as the main basis of the data that the
researchers have obtained concerning the numbers of PWD involved in construction
management.

In terms of companies in the private sector, the researchers have coordinated

with the Makati Development Corporation (MDC) which partakes a vital role in serving
100% of Ayala Land’s projects, providing engineering, procurement, construction and
construction management services for its partners. Similarly, it also gives consideration
and employment chance for people with disability.

Giving PWDs opportunities, and a chance of growth and development as a

working individual, these private and public sectors are one of the many that consider
and employ people with disability a possibility to work and contribute to our economy.

SAMPLING DESIGN

To accomplish this study, the researchers will utilize the relevant data gathered
from chosen agencies and companies from the private and public sectors. that must
provide the data that this research required.

This study shall utilize the following frameworks which includes the procedures
and methods to be done in the research.

ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK

Statement
Objectives RRL
of the Study

Significant Data
Analysis
Findings Collection

Further
Studies

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
 INPUT PROCESS
NCR Government
Agencies/
Gathering Data for
Private Construction
OUTPUT
Organization and Firms and other The number of PWD
Private Government agencies employed in
Construction Firms and organizations construction industry
Profile for who have PWD
PWD employees employees data.