MANILA (UPDATE) - Persons with disabilities are now exempted from paying the 12 percent value added tax (VAT) after implementing rules of a law mandating it were signed on Thursday, Senator Sonny Angara said.

PWDs are now exempted from paying VAT in transport services, medicines, and restaurants, among others, according to Angara, who co-authored the law.

The VAT exemption is on top of the 20 percent discount that PWDs are entitled to under the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, he said.

VAT exemption also includes purchases of goods and services from lodging establishments, recreation centers, medical and dental services, diagnostic and laboratory fees and professional fees of attending doctors, and funeral and burial services for the death for a person with disability.

Relatives who are caring for a PWD are also entitled to a P25,000 annual income tax deduction under the new law.

The implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 10754, also known as An Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of Persons with Disability, were drafted primarily by the social welfare, health, and finance departments as well as the National Council for Disability Affairs.

"We have conducted several discussions and consultations with individuals, groups and organizations of persons with disability and we have learned a lot from them. These learnings translated to the formulation of the IRR," Social Welfare and Development Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said.

Persons with disability are those with long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. -- Report from Zandro Ochona, ABS-CBN News