Disabled people in Philippine province ask for support

From the Philippine Information Agency June 25:

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya -- Members of the Provincial Federation of Persons with Disabilities (PFPWD) in the province have asked the assistance of local government officials and the support of the LGUs, national government agencies and business establishments in asserting their rights under the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons.

Christopher Joseph Abriam, project manager and program coordinator of PFPWD lamented the low recognition accorded to them by concerned sectors, saying: "that there is a need to aggressively encourage the recognition of the rights of disabled persons.

"We really need these basic rights, specially now that the cost of living conditions is rising, he said during the recent orientation workshop on International and National Laws on persons with disabilities at the Ammungan Hall here."

Abriam said there is a need for the issuance of an Identification Card under the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons which should be given by the National Council for Disability Affairs (NCDA) than the one being issued by the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP).

NCWDP-issued IDs are not usually recognized by establishments. Other IDs recognized by them were those issued by local chief executives, barangay captains and the discount fare IDs, Abriam stressed.

He also called on LGU officials to continue issuing IDs for their legitimate members as part of an advocacy campaign in support of the disabled persons in the province.

Abriam added that local government officials can also craft resolutions in support to the PFPWD sector in the province to help in the overall campaign in generating support and recognition on the rights of the disabled persons such as privileges and incentives.

Even copies of the law supporting the plight of disabled persons should also be given to business establishments in order to generate awareness and support from them, he said.

Abriam said that the plight of their sector in the provinces is still lamentable compared to their colleagues in Metro Manila.

"It is good that we are already organized here and we have a business to start with compared to our comrades in other provinces," Abriam pointed out.