ANGELES CITY — Pampanga 1st District Rep. Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. has filed a bill granting tax deductions to qualified parents or legal guardians of Children with Special Needs (CSNs) and Youth with Special Needs (YSNs).
House Bill No. 6504 seeks to grant qualified parents or legal guardians of CSNs and/or YSNs a deduction of P50,000 from their taxable income, provided that said amount is used for therapy, diagnostic evaluations by a medical professional, tutoring, transportation expenses to and from a school or medical facility, or specialized instructional materials or assistive devices.
To qualify for the tax incentive, parents or legal guardians must provide more than half of the total financial support for the CSNs and/or YSNs.
“Raising children with special needs entails significant sacrifices and often require expensive treatments and therapies. Beyond the economic challenges of rearing children with special needs, the parents, legal guardians, and relatives also advocate to secure their children’s inclusion in government programs,” Lazatin said.
“Given the number of children with disabilities, there is a dire need for the government to step in and provide support to the parents and legal guardians to improve these children’s opportunities and well-being,” he added.
CSNs are those aged 18 years old and below who are either intellectually-gifted, or who have disabilities, impairments, or handicaps that make learning and other activities difficult and/or require special attention and services to facilitate rehabilitation. These shall include those with physical/orthopedic, intellectual, mental, psychosocial, visual, hearing, or learning disability; speech and language impairment; autism; or disability due to chronic illness.
YSNs are those aged 15 to 24 years old with the same characteristics as CSNs stated above.
Qualified CSNs and/or YSNs may be legitimate, illegitimate, or legally adopted, and who are dependent and living with the taxpayer. This also includes CSNs and YSNs placed under the legal custody of an immediate family or relative.
It can be recalled that on Oct. 6, 2025, Lazatin also filed HB 5125 mandating the establishment of National and Provincial Centers for Autism.
Under HB 5125, national and provincial centers for autism will be established to formulate and implement an integrated and comprehensive plan for the diagnosis, therapy, and rehabilitation of individuals with autism.
The centers shall provide free diagnosis, therapy, and rehabilitation; vocational training for adults with autism; employment opportunities for individuals with autism; and counseling, orientation, and referral services.
The provincial autism centers shall also implement early detection and intervention programs for children under five years old within their jurisdictions, in coordination with the respective barangays for screening, parent education, and early therapy for the children. Team Lazatin Media
