Section 5: Recommendations

5.1 Key Findings

This monitoring study found that many people with disabilities in the Philippines continue to experience human rights violations of one form or another. Abuses of their fundamental human rights and freedoms have happened in the family, school, work, community and every domain of life. Human rights violations were found to be particularly frequent in contexts and situations related to participation in social activities and involved overt discrimination and unequal treatment, disrespect for difference, erosion of dignity, denial of accessibility and exclusion.

The subgroups who reported more human rights violations were female belonging to the lower and middle income class and those working as office clerks, massage workers, and unskilled workers or laborers whether in urban or rural areas.

Despite all of these, however, only a handful of victims of human rights violations had reported the abuses faced to the authorities, primarily due to lack of confidence that something positive would happen, lack of knowledge on how and where to report, fear of the consequences and avoidance of trouble, and the fatalistic attitude of most Filipinos to raise up problems and abuse to the Lord.

The discrimination of people with disabilities in the Philippines, according to those who have been victims of these abuses, has roots in the misconceptions and prejudice around disability that prevail in the Filipino society. In fact, popular representations associate persons with disabilities with ideas of invalidity, incompetence and burden, and do not recognize their unique contributions to society.

5.2 Recommendations

While the Filipino state has issued over the years a significant collection of legal and policy instruments in order to protect and promote the rights and dignity of people with disabilities, this study has found a large gap between the prescriptions of existing laws and policies and the reality on the ground. Indeed this research has documented many human rights violations and abuses that are still being experienced by persons with disabilities in all regions of the Philippines. In light of these results, the following measures are considered of immediate necessity:

• Implement and enforce the provisions of the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, UN CRPD and other pertinent laws on persons with disability with perseverance, willpower and determination, notably through awareness-raising campaigns directed to the general population, institutions (business, educational, health, etc.), local government al units and all government agencies, as well as to persons with disabilities themselves and their organizations. As respondents put it:

  There are laws but they are not fully implemented and are not followed. I think there should be more advocacy.

  There is already the Magna Carta for persons with disabilities. There is penalty for mocking persons with disability. And there should be awareness campaigns in the community…. The community should be made aware. Because even if there is a law, people are not aware..

  There are buildings or structures owned by government which are not disability- friendly which is hard to accept, knowing that they should be examples since they made these laws. They know these laws but they don't implement them

• Provide immediate economic relief to persons with disabilities and their families, particularly those who under current difficult economic times are excluded from the labour market or face increased risk of exclusion:

  I just stayed at home… I usually sew. I have nothing else to do… It's just a hobby… If you will think of the effort it takes, it's not really rewarded.

  First I need livelihood assistance. For example, I dream of having a clinic where we can do our service so that people who want to have a massage will just go to our clinic.

  …[D]uring the recent months I was not able to pay my rent and the business is running low.

  …[I]f those who are able-bodied have problems, I think it's more so with a person with disabilities. … I would just like to have a healthy body and something to earn a living.

• Eliminate barriers to participation in social life (particularly in the public transport system), and tackle disability discrimination in access to education and the labour market so that people with disabilities can live lives with dignity and equality.

  Sir, I just hope that people who are normal or physically fit should give attention or assist persons with disabilities. I hope they don't treat us differently from them because we are also human with feelings that could get hurt.

  I hope they would allot seats to persons with disabilities in transportations. I also hope they would have an association that would discipline their members about [their treatment of] persons with disabilities, so that they would pay enough attention.

  We are asking for respect… Just respect us. If you don't have a disability and I have, respect me. We're both human beings.

  Somebody who is a person with a disability should hold office there at the DSWD to communicate with us. Or those able-bodied at the DSWD should experience our disability.

• Adopt a cross-disability focus to address the needs and human rights of all persons with disabilities and not just a few groups; This sentiment is echoed on the following excerpts:

  …The government has not done anything significant to let the people know; to let everyone be aware of the deaf, that we exist…

  …One more thing, the government seems to see other kinds of disabilities more than the deaf. We see ramps and elevators all over the city and that's really great. But how about the deaf, there are a lot of Filipino deaf here…

  …Did they bother giving us close captions in televisions or interpreters or even door bells that have built-in light features? Sadly, no…

• In all measures to uphold the human rights of persons with disabilities prioritize the most disadvantaged groups to improve their socio-economic status. These are women, the lower income groups, non-professionals and unskilled workers, and those 18-40 years old.

These specific recommendations reflect the key issues and concerns of organizations of the Filipino Disability Movement, particularly KAMPI, which further advocate for political action in the following domains:

Education

Education is a key factor to ensure improvement in the quality of life of persons with disabilities in general. Government should institute measures to significantly increase the number of children with disabilities included in educational services. Government should further ensure that boys and girls and women and men with disabilities are considered in all plans and programs towards realizing the goal of Education for All. Requirements for teaching aids, assistive devices, and appropriate support to ensure effective educational outcomes for learners with disabilities must be adequately funded.

Employment

Persons with disability are not provided many opportunities for accessing employment. Government must set national targets for the placement and promotion of the employment of persons with disabilities as provided for in the Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities. These efforts should include strengthening current measures to achieve targets through the mandatory quota scheme and other incentives to employers (aside from tax rebates as currently provided by law), focused awareness raising campaigns targeting at employers and employees, and technical support to employers. The use of job search agencies, establishment of employment placement and support centers, wage subsidy, job coaching, trial employment and industrial profiling should also be considered as means to ensure full access to employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

There is a direct relationship between living in extreme poverty and quality of life. Every effort has to be made to open opportunities for persons with disability to be productive and to earn incomes to promote their independence. Entry requirements and eligibility criteria to mainstream training programs need to be accessible to persons with disabilities with particular attention given to gender equity and the participation of persons with disability from low-income and poor families. Consideration must also be made to include in training and employment opportunities people with extensive disabilities.

Assistive Devices and Support Services

Government must consider seriously the need to provide assistive devices to persons with disabilities in order to facilitate their inclusion in education, employment and other mainstream activities and entitlements. Continued failure to do so has significantly limited the opportunities of millions of persons with disability to participate equally and fully and live productive lives. Despite some piecemeal efforts, the need for assistive devices remains largely unmet.

Concrete steps must be taken to ensure that all services are made accessible, especially to the most vulnerable among persons with disability specifically those with psycho-social disabilities, users of psychiatric services, persons with intellectual disabilities, persons who are HIV/AIDS-positive and those afflicted with leprosy. Needs of older persons with disabilities have also to be given priority attention in the provision of social services.

Accessibility and Communication Systems

While the Philippines passed an accessibility law more than 20 years ago, most of the provisions of the law are not enforced. The introduction of barrier-free features into existing public transport systems, buildings and other infrastructure must be given priority attention.

Government should initiate immediate action to incorporate access provisions for barrier-free features as a standard requirement in designs and plans for all new construction, renovation and expansion of buildings and facilities, housing projects and recreational facilities, both government or private sector-owned. Authorities should put in place local building codes that incorporate access provisions for persons with disability are properly implemented, and also ensure that sanctions are meted out to violators. The external built environment must be made accessible through the installation of pavements with curb ramps and by providing adequate signage that correspond to the requirements of various disability groups.

Efforts to increase accessibility of the country's mass transport system in Metro Manila, and other areas considering building such facilities, must be ensured, beginning with the main lines and trunk routes, and to see to it that further modifications of and additions to, mass transport systems incorporate barrier-free features at the very outset of the planning stage.

Authorities have an obligation to guarantee the right of access of persons with disability to sign language services in television programs, especially news and documentaries, and in vital public services and facilities, and to provide an alternative means of communication whenever and wherever this is needed. The right of access to reading materials in Braille, large print, computer diskette, audiocassette and other suitable formats for people who have difficulty reading regular print, has to be similarly guaranteed.

Prevention, Habilitation and Rehabilitation

Strategies for the prevention of the causes of disability must be further emphasized in the implementation of national and local primary health care programs. The free provision of iodine to prevent intellectual disability and vitamin A capsules to prevent blindness especially among children must be intensified especially in the rural areas and urban slum communities.

The community-based rehabilitation concept needs to be applied as a strategy that integrates the issues of disability within a community development framework—with disability seen as a development issue rather than a medical or welfare concern. Filipinos with disabilities must be provided the opportunity to enhance their capacity to assume roles as decision makers, key actors and leaders in efforts for their rehabilitation rather than seen as clients or mere beneficiaries and consumers of services. Greater collaboration of efforts by Government, NGOs and people with disabilities and their organizations must be pursued to promote shared responsibility and accountability among sectors in the development of policies, programs and services.

Poverty-Reduction Programs

Persons with disability have to be included in poverty alleviation programs targeted for the poorest of the poor in general. Programs on poverty reduction must serve to improve the living conditions of persons with disabilities—the sector with the most number of uneducated and under-educated, untrained, unemployed and under-employed citizens who are generally poor.

National Plan of Action

A doable and responsive National Plan of Action that translates into programs and services the provisions of RA 7277 or the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, the Accessibility Law and other disability-related policies and commitments toward the development of the disability sector must be put in place. A well defined policy direction has to be set, backed by corresponding resources to efficiently and effectively deliver services to persons with disabilities. This may require the establishment of specific measures focusing on areas such as barrier-free access to the built environment, access to education, social protection, housing, employment, health and rehabilitation and the mandatory inclusion of disability concerns in provincial, municipal and city plans implemented by local government units. Enforcement measures must also be passed and a mechanism established to monitor the enforcement of those policies listed above, particularly at the level of local government units must be established.

Participation in Decision-Making Processes

Persons with disabilities and their organizations have to actively participate in efforts to identify solutions to issues and challenges that affect their day-to-day lives. Their hands-on knowledge of relevant issues, of which non-disabled people may not necessarily be aware, is important when implementing policies in relation to disability.

Concerned government and NGO representatives must ensure that persons with disability and their organizations are always involved in multi-sectoral collaborations, dialogue and consultations where disability issues are discussed in relation to the national development agenda and priorities.

Awareness-Raising

Lead agencies such as the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons and the regional disability committees, in partnership with media entities at the national and local levels, must spearhead the holding of regular community awareness campaigns, symposia and other activities to correct misconceptions and remove the stigma attached to disability that tend to lower the self-esteem and hinder the full participation of persons with disability in community life and activities.

Service providers, such as those involved in the government's primary health and related programs, are often not aware of disability issues. Efforts must be made to increase awareness by integrating disability issues into mainstream programs like those for poverty alleviation, health, housing, transport, human resources development, labor, education, communications, culture, tourism, political activities and disaster management programs. Particular attention must be taken for the inclusion of specific concerns of women and girls with disabilities to ensure quality of services.

National Data on Disability

Renewed efforts must be made for the collection of comprehensive, accurate and updated data/information on disability, both of quantitative and qualitative kind, and disaggregated according to a vast range of variables including gender. Quantitative data collected through structured questionnaires on large probabilistic samples will ensure a low margin of error and allow for statistical inference on the survey results. Qualitative studies will add depth to this data by providing the personal stories that bring figures to life and allow the examination of the processes of discrimination, inequality and exclusion facing people with disabilities.

Comprehensive, accurate and updated mix-method information is crucial for effective planning and implementation of services and progress monitoring and evaluation, among other important issues. There must be a firm commitment to allocate resources for the establishment of an accurate and credible national data base on disability.

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