Sunday, October 12, 2008 RP 'not friendly' to persons with disability
A GROUP of disabled persons yesterday said that while the Philippines supports the cause of persons with disabilities (PWDs), it only achieved a little in implementing the laws to promote their welfare.
In a forum on Universal Standard on Accessibility, Adela Avila-Kono, accessibility specialist of the Organization of Rehabilitation Agencies, Regional Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons, said Batas Pambansa (BP) 344 (Accessibility Law) was passed 25 years ago.
But not even half of the provisions of the law have been implemented, said Kono, who is herself a disabled person.
UNCRPD
Kono said accessibility to the toilet in most establishments is their major concern. Most of the time, she said, the toilets’ door is too narrow, the floors are too slippery, the toilet bowl to high and there are no grab bars.
Emmanuel Rabacal, chairman of the Regional Development Council-Infrastructure Development Committee (RDC-IDC), said the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which the Philippines has recently ratified, reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Rabacal said UNCRPD espouses acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of diversity and humanity and their full and effective participation and inclusion in society.
Universal design
Towards this end, he said that it is the responsibility of the convention signatories to meet the specific needs of persons with disabilities, to promote their availability and use, and to promote universal design in the development of standards and guidelines.
“Universal design means the design of products, environments, programs and services to be usable by all people to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design,” he said.
Rabacal said that while many countries have adopted the universal design, the same cannot be said of the Philippines.
“Every single day, the human rights of our PWD brothers and sisters are violated and their inherent dignity diminished due to lack of access and exclusion in society,” he said.
Bathroom hazard
According to Rabacal, the IDC of which he chairs supports the full integration of PWDs in society through the adoption of universal design and its inclusion in the amendment of the National Building Code.
Geraldine P. Ruiz, RDC private sector representative, said 90 percent of the accidents involving disabled persons happen in the toilets and bathrooms.
Ruiz is also a disabled person.
She said the common practice of the general services workers of hotels and restaurants is to spread water on the entire floor of the toilet and then spread chemicals to kills the germs.
“This is dangerous to disabled persons and the law is quiet about it,” she said.
Kono and Ruiz are espousing the amendment of BP 344 and the National Building Code. (EOB)
