Upholding PWD rights, welfare

of our society.

The law is currently undergoing revision improvement, but the bigger challenge that it faces today is strict implementation.

Aside from BP344, other laws exist to uphold the rights and we l f a r e of PWDs such as the Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities that was later amended to include privileges.

However, without improving the physical environment where every person unavoidably functions, the rights are far from being real. Not a lot of us may be appalled by the sight of stairs or a step — not until, perhaps, a swift accident suddenly renders us

a wheelchair.

The wheelchair solves the problem of traveling without limbs or feet, but the stairs introduce a new barrier. Such barriers are the forms of discrimination that architects promoting accessibility seek to break.

Architects in building an inclusive environment

The United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) has long been active in the promotion of accessible architecture through its committee and advocacy for accessibility.

For it to flourish, architects need to address both future and existing buildings.

Future buildings need to be de- still a sketch on a piece of paper.

During the design process is the best time to apply the principles of accessibility and universal design. It’s even better when a PWD is involved to coordinate with the architect.

Existing buildings, on the other hand, can still be improved but may entail costs in installation and alteration. This is the disadvantage of not following the Accessibility Law or disregarding the importance of an authentic design phase early on.

For the proper assessment of existing buildings, accessibility auditing (access audit) and recommendation of improvements can be done by trained architects and professionals, with access inspectors who are PWDs.

To uphold the cause, many

United Architects of the Philippines QC Central Chapter and Architects for Accessibility donate Batas Pambansa 344 handbooks to local government units and the National Council on Disability Affairs. chapters of the UAP are launching projects and campaigns everywhere. The UAP Quezon City Central Chapter’s advocacy group, Architects for Accessibility (AFA) is one of these kinds, focused on spreading awareness and spurring action to mold the Philippines into a barrier-free setting.

Recognized in 2017 by the Zero Project whose mission is to “work for a world with zero barriers,” AFA’s operation was shortlisted as one of top 30 innovative practices in accessibility around the world.

The group’s brainchild, Access Audit “Form 2,” was recognized for its quantitative measure of accessibility and its objective of making the process easy and doable by PWDs themselves, with some training.

Since the young group was born in 2016, it continues to provide access audit trainings to professionals in the building industry and also to PWDs without technical knowledge.

It is also actively encouraging PWDs and assisting architects to apply in and join the Asean University Network–Disability & Public Policy’s (AUN-DPPNet) annual training in Accessibility and Universal Design hosted by the University of Malaya in Malaysia.

Since the training’s first year in 2017, four Filipinos, including three AFA members, have already benefited in the short course and shared their knowledge locally.

The change fought for by architects