Disability-inclusive disaster risk management pushed

Various disabled peoples' organizations across the country are working towards disability inclusion in disaster risk reduction and management plans.

During the three-day conference in Cebu City which concluded yesterday, the group asserted that the government should reinforce the mechanisms and implementation of the disability-inclusive disaster plans.

The group added that the government must ensure that persons with disabilities (PWDs) should have access to fundamental rights, considering that the Philippines is a signatory to various treaties and conventions on human rights, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

These statements were stipulated in the written declaration signed by the delegates, including government leaders and advocates for the rights of the disabled, as part of their commitment towards an inclusive and sustainable development.

The signing of the national declaration was set as key highlight of the gathering as it would serve as the framework for action to institutionalize a disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction and management plans.

Carmen Zubiaga, executive director of the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), hopes that the declaration will be taken as a reference by policy makers if they wish to revise and improve the Republic Act 10121 or "Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2012."

Among the issues raised during earlier consultations were PWD's limited participation in disaster planning and incomplete list of PWDs, making them “unheard, unseen and unaccounted for.”

The group said PWDs are also at risk of exploitation and abuse and are more vulnerable to discrimination in natural disaster situations, prompting them to push for the institutionalization of a disabilityinclusive disaster management plans.

The Cebu provincial government has earlier directed the 51 local government units to come up with a complete list of PWDs for their inclusion in the disaster risk reduction and management plans. This is part of keeping the province's policy of “zero casualty” in times of calamities.

There are at least 41,000 PWDs enlisted in the province, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) Head Baltazar Tribunalo Jr.

But he said the figure is still far from complete.

Delegates also shared that there are several social barriers like poverty and discrimination that hinder PWDs to have access to basic services and opportunities.