Persons with different abilities
How can we ensure that PWDs are given opportunities to develop and use their talents?
Some of my closest relatives are persons with disabilities (PWDs). Two of my cousins are deaf-mute.
But as a four-year old, I didn’t think of them in those terms. I remember them as having been very good at running and playing hide-and-seek, and being as noisy as small children always are when having fun. They migrated to the USA in their early ’ 20s and are living good lives. One of them is married and has two children with normal hearing. The other regularly travels and has already visited countries in at least three continents to date. They have high-paying jobs, own homes, and drive cars. Their lives would probably have been very different if they had stayed here in the Philippines.
Philippine society and government have tended to treat PWDs very inconsistently.
Filipinos in general are touched and inspired by stories of PWDs who have persevered in their endeavors despite the odds, yet few companies hire them for corporate positions, frequently relegating them to lower- paid work compared to their able-bodied counterparts. To quote my student-advisees’ undergraduate thesis on the topic, PWDs are “the first ones to go if the company (is) not doing well and the last ones to get in if the company is doing well.”
Republic Act No. 7277, also known as the Magna Carta for PWDs, encourages businesses to hire PWDs by providing businesses with tax incentives, yet the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) itself excluded PWDs from the 2015 Census of Population and Housing. When questioned, the PSA explained that the “main objective of the 2015 Census... is to update the population count,” and after having been criticized for its omission, stated that it would “conduct a Disability Prevalence Survey in 2016.” As of Dec. 28, 2016, the PSA reported the conduct of this survey in different provinces; however, a comprehensive report on the survey results has yet to be disseminated.
How can we ensure that PWDs are given opportunities to develop and use their talents?
It may be a cliché to think of them as “differently abled,” but it is a good starting point. I would expand this by claiming that “differently abled” does not and will never mean “less abled.”
As an example, Jessica Cox, a Filipino- American motivational speaker, can surf and fly a plane. She is also a taekwondo black belter. Only a few people, regardless of fitness level, can claim to have the same accomplishments. The difference between these people and Jessica is that she was born without arms. Obviously, she has not let her condition dictate what she can and cannot do. While it is true that PWDs have limitations on what they can do, they are no different from able-bodied persons, who also have limitations. In the same way, we have to view PWDs as talented, productive people who have the potential to make valuable contributions to our society.
Another way to encourage greater inclusion among PWDs is to showcase as exemplars the individuals and entities that have been nominated or have won the Apolinario Mabini Awards. According to its Web site, the Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled launched the awards in 1974 and chooses “individuals, groups and agencies that have made outstanding contributions” to PWDs.
Among the awards are Employer of the Year and DisabledFriendly Establishment, which may be given to either government agencies or private companies that hire, employ, promote, and/or integrate PWDs in the workplace. Other awards include PWD Filipino of the Year ( given to PWDs whose accomplishments make them role models), Disabled Group of the Year ( given to PWD groups with outstanding educational, cultural, vocational, athletic, spiritual, or economic activities), and Media Advocate of the Year ( given to individuals, groups, or institutions advocating PWD rights and welfare).
These are just initial steps in an extensive and long-range plan to weave PWDs into the fabric of Philippine society. We can learn much from them, and we still have to do much to make them feel that they are a part of, rather than outcasts from, our communities.
Industry, government, academe, and civil society need to collaborate in empowering and harnessing the talents of our differently abled brothers and sisters so that our society becomes truly inclusive. As parents, siblings, relatives, and friends of PWDs, let us show them our appreciation and support, and help them, even in small ways, to realize their dreams.