City braces for PWDs summit

GOVERNMENT agencies and private partners gear up for activities celebrating the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) Week slated on July 17-23 in cooperation with the Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) of Iloilo City.

Blesilda Mabilog, PDAO consultant and team leader in Iloilo City, said the summit is a perfect opportunity to highlight the need to implement Memorandum Circular 2010-103 or the “Establishment of Persons with Disability Affairs Office in every province, city and municipality pursuant to RA 10070” issued by Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo in 2010.

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) circular reminds local government units to implement Republic Act 10070 that sets aside part of their budget to PDAO and similar organizations.

Mabilog said the NDPR Week is themed: "Mainstreaming Persons with Disabilities Program in Economic Development." Some 200 PWD participants and supporters in Iloilo, Capiz, Guimaras, Aklan, Antique and Negros Occidental are expected to attend the summit.

The city PDAO will hold a transport forum on July 19, to gather about 50 leaders of the public transport sector and heads of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Transport Management and Traffic Regulation Office (TMTRO).

The forum aims to discuss the proper and effective implementation of Local Ordinance 605 that exempts pregnant women, senior citizens, and PWD from the loading and unloading areas of public utility vehicles.

The city PDAO will also hold a forum on access to information specifically for those with hearing impairment on July 20.

On July 21, a three-kilometer fun run for the benefit of the Federation of PWDs in Iloilo City will be held at Plazuela de Iloilo.

A legal clinic by the Women Lawyers Association will be held the afternoon of July 21 to inform PWDs where to go and what to do in case they face legal problems.

Representatives from government agencies like the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the Department of Health will also discuss PWDs' right to health insurance.

The Department of Labor and Employment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and the Department of Trade and Industry will share their PWD-friendly programs and projects. ( Lydia C. Pendon)