LAST week, as I was part of the school visit at Lubao Elementary School, I chanced upon the Special Education (SPED) students who are mostly deaf. I wanted to communicate to them given the limited knowledge that I have about sign language, but what I know is really basic.
A few days after, I read online that the law assigning the Filipino Sign Language as the National Sign Language of the Filipino Deaf and the Official Sign Language Of Government in all Transactions Involving the Deaf, and Mandating Its Use In Schools, Broadcast Media, and Workplaces or RA 11106 has already been signed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
This is indeed a great news for the nearly 121,000 deaf Filipinos who clearly understand each other through the unique sign language they use called the Filipino Sign Language. The use of sign language in the Philippines is said to be dated back as early as 1604 when 1604 when a Spanish priest in Leyte taught two deaf Filipinos about God using signs. At the same time, when the Americans came, they have also influenced the usage of American Sign Language or ASL. Thus making the Filipino Sign Language or FSL having "its own structure and that it developed naturally" according to the CEAD FSL.
Based on feedback from the Filipino Deaf Community, while FSL continues to evolve with time and with its usage, they still feel the struggle in making the entire country accept and understand the nature of FSL, with most Filipinos thinking that "ASL is the only sign system and that it's used universally."
Based on Section 3 of RA 11106, FSL is declared as the national sign language of the Philippines and it "shall be recognized, promoted, and supported as the medium of official communication in all transactions involving the deaf, and as the language of instruction of deaf education, without prejudice to the use of other forms of communication depending on individual choice or preference."
Furthermore, in Section 4 of the law, all national and local government agencies involved in the education of the deaf such as DepEd, Ched, Tesda, "are tasked to henceforth use, and coordinate with each other on the use of FSL, as the medium of instruction in deaf education. The FSL shall also be taught as a separate subject in the curriculum for deaf learners."
In the same manner, RA 11106 also ensures the inclusion of the deaf community in all workplaces, in government transactions, in legal and judicial proceedings, and in media. This means that, all the concerned agencies and even local government units shall also conduct training and capacity building to increase awareness and ultimately ensure that government personnel are able to communicate using the Filipino Sign Language. This is only way that RA 11106 will be implemented effectively and for the deaf community to fully appreciate these efforts that aim to include them in the community.