Magna Carta for Persons with Disability

Section 18

The Department of Health in coordination with the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons, shall institute a national health program which shall aim to attain the following: a) prevention of disability, whether occurring prenatally or post-natally; b) recognition and early diagnosis of disability; and c) early rehabilitation of the disabled.

Section 19

The Department of Health shall establish medical rehabilitation centers in government provincial hospitals, and shall include in its annual appropriation the necessary funds for the operation of such centers. The Department of Health shall formulate and implement a program to enable marginalized persons with disability to avail of free rehabilitation services in government hospitals.

Section 20

The State shall protect and promote the right to health of persons with disability and shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to their health development which shall make essential health services available to them at affordable cost. The national government shall provide an integrated health service for persons with disability which shall include, but not limited to, the following: a) prevention of disability through immunization, nutrition, environmental protection and preservation, and genetic counseling; and early detection of disability and timely intervention to arrest disabling condition; and b) medical treatment and rehabilitation. The Department of Health shall field medical personnel specializing in the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with disability to provincial hospitals and, when viable, to municipal health centers. It shall also train its field health personnel in the provision of medical attention to persons with disability. It shall further ensure that its field health units have the necessary capabilities to fit prosthetic and orthotic appliances on persons with disability.