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Text and photos by KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING
VOICES echoed across the Senate conference room as senators and representatives of various persons with disabilities organizations across the nation discussed the creation of PWD Affairs Offices (PDAOs) at the local government level in 2008.
Charito “Chato” Manglapus, then president of Cerebral Palsied Association of the Philippines (CPAP), listened intently, but otherwise sat quietly in her wheelchair—until then National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) chair Rosie Romulo made the mistake of overgeneralizing: “…mentally challenged such as persons with cerebral palsy…”
In a high-pitched, almost child-like voice, Manglapus nervously but decisively challenged the assumption. “With all due respect, ma’am, hindi lahat ng may cerebral palsy ay mentally challenged (Not all persons with cerebral palsy are mentally challenged),” she said.
In what she fondly recalls as a defining moment in her lifelong advocacy for PWD rights, Manglapus would then become one of the most prominent voices in raising PWD awareness across the country as she became actively involved in policymaking and creation of civic programs for the sector.
Born in 1964 with severe spastic cerebral palsy, Manglapus, 61, was told by her adoptive parents that her biological mother tried to hide her pregnancy by using a girdle, which she claims may have caused the abnormal development of her spine.
Cerebral palsy is a group of movement disorders caused by an abnormal development in the part of the brain that affects mobility and coordination, as was Manglapus’ case.
“Noong bata ako, nakakalipat-lipat pa ako ng upuan mag-isa. Pero n’ung 10 years old na ako, (napansin) na nila mama, hirap na ‘ko tumayo (When I was younger, I used to be able to transfer chairs by myself. But when I reached 10 years old, my parents noticed it had become increasingly difficult for me),” she said.
Her adoptive mother, Aurora, laments that doctors had very little knowledge of cerebral palsy back then. In fact, she said, it took the late National Scientist Fe del Mundo to correctly diagnose Manglapus, then three years old, and refer them to what is now the Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc. (PCPI).
Though she was never able to fully walk and has to move around in a wheelchair, Manglapus learned to do regular daily activities such as eating and writing—albeit at a sluggish pace—by herself, through the help of physical and occupational therapy.
“Ayoko rin nagbibigay ng burden sa mga taong nakapaligid sa’kin. Hangga’t kaya kong gawin mag-isa, gagawin ko (I don’t want to be a burden to everyone around me. As long as I can do it on my own, I will do it),” she said.
She finished elementary in Hacienda San Francisco Public High School, a regular school in Isabela. However, midway in her first year in high school, Manglapus, who was sickly and frail as a child, decided to undergo home tutoring rather than pursue secondary education.
Instead, she studied creative writing and oil painting, showing extraordinary skill in the latter.
As a child with cerebral palsy, she said she was fortunate enough to have been surrounded by friends and relatives who understood her condition, if not at least showed sympathy. But the shy, timid Manglapus would later on find real confidence in her life’s one true passion: advocacy work.
Manglapus is one of the first members of CPAP, a nonstock, nonprofit organization formed by persons with cerebral palsy who are actively engaged in civic work and policymaking regarding PWDs. It aims to promote awareness of as well as protect the rights of persons with cerebral palsy, and to encourage them to participate in nation-building despite their disability.
Encouraged by doctors from PCPI to form their own organization, CPAP was founded by fellow spastic cerebral palsy quadriplegic and close friend Rodrigo “Peewee” Kapunan in 1993, who also invited her on the organizational board.
Reluctantly assuming presidency in 2003, Manglapus sheepishly recalls avoiding board meetings during her first year as president, partly due to her embarrassment at her underdeveloped voice and her perceived lack of skill in handling the organization.
Eventually, fellow PWD Lauro Forcil gently chastised her, saying in order to lift society’s negative perception of their sector, she herself must work at the helm of all the organization’s efforts.
“Nahiya ako sa sarili ko n’un (I was ashamed of myself),” she smiled, shaking her head.
Since then, Manglapus assumed full command of the organization. Whatever she failed to learn in school, she learned during the course of her 10-year term: a firm grasp on laws and policies concerning the sector, and the ability to dialogue not only with authority but with her fellow PWDs.
Under her administration, CPAP, along with The Asia Foundation, launched its first project, the CPAP Awareness Project Seminar on Causes, Prevention, and Management series, which was held across the country, at the invitation of several local government units such as Cebu, Iloilo and Davao.
With the help of several resource speakers from the sector itself, they were able to visit schools and educate students and parents alike on the experiences and rights as a PWD. The awareness campaign specifically targeted to educate parents about cerebral palsy, so that they will not hide their children.
In line with this, Manglapus, alongside CPAP’s current president Dennis Ilagan, successfully lobbied in 2004 for the implementation of Presidential Proclamation 588, or the Cerebral Palsy Awareness and Protection (CPAP) Week, held annually during Sept. 16-22.
This, she said, is to encourage persons with cerebral palsy to participate in programs and activities specifically geared towards their skill and personality development.
It was under Manglapus’ leadership that CPAP, in partnership with The Asia Foundation, Australian Aid and the Commission on Elections, took a significant step in PWD suffrage through their Voters’ Education Campaign in 2012, which aimed to increase electoral participation among PWDs.
In accordance with Republic Act 7277 or the Magna Carta for PWDs, which recognizes the right of PWDs to suffrage, the organization conducted seminars in different towns where PWDs can validate or update their voter’s registrations in preparation for the 2013 elections.
A staunch advocate for PWD suffrage, Manglapus believes that elections must and should be an arena to voice out their sector’s concerns, concerns which are just as pressing, if not more than, as any as the rest of the nation’s.
“N’ung una akong bumoto, d’un ko talaga naramdaman na, ay, Filipino pala ako (When I first voted, that was when I realized I am a Filipino),” she said, laughing. “‘Yun ‘yung gusto kong maramdaman ng kapwa ko PWD, na karapatan nilang bumoto (That is what I want my fellow PWDs to feel, to recognize that it is their right to vote).”
While she has stepped down from presidency of CPAP, Manglapus acknowledges that there is still a lot to be done for her fellow PWDs, especially those with cerebral palsy.
For example, she said, CPAP, now under Ilagan’s leadership, is lobbying to include households with PWDs as automatic beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino (4Ps) Program, as they are more likely to be pushed into poverty by higher out-of-pocket expenses for medicine, education and transportation.
Manglapus said she wishes that qualified PWDs with exceptional voice talents may be employed and trained in dubbing and broadcasting by radio and television networks—so that PWDs have a voice in media, literally.
While championing for an inclusive Philippines remains a difficult challenge, Manglapus hopes that one day, PWDs become empowered to assert their place in society—a place which is rightfully theirs in the first place.
“Dapat ang mga karapatan natin, binibigay sa’tin dahil sa atin ‘yun, hindi dahil kinakaawaan tayo (Our rights are not a privilege nor given out of sympathy, it is ours),” she said.
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Capability, not disability
By KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING
VIBRANT, colorful paintings of green landscapes, waterfalls, flora and fauna—all worthy of an art exhibit—adorn the Manglapus house, from the foyer to the dining room.
In contrast, their painter, moving around in a wheelchair, simply passes them by. In her mind, she thinks of something else entirely: her work as a figure in the promotion of persons with disabilities’ (PWD) rights.
Before Charito “Chato” Manglapus, 61 and with cerebral palsy, assumed the presidency of the Cerebral Palsied Association of the Philippines (CPAP) 10 years ago, she was an artist, bringing postcard images into life on canvass.
Under the tutelage of fellow PWD Virgilia Soriano, a nun who was hard of hearing, Manglapus learned the art of oil painting, eventually venturing from simple flora and fauna, into full-blown paintings of vast landscapes.
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Her last obra maestra before she joined CPAP was a replica of the da Vinci classic, “The Last Supper.”
Because of the abnormal development of her hands as a result of her disability, Manglapus laughingly recalls people’s disbelief whenever they see her paintings.
“Dati, palaging napapagkamalan na mouth painting, (pero) hindi naman. Pero para maipwesto ko ‘yung brush, bibig ko ‘yung ginagamit ko (Before my paintings were thought of as mouth paintings, but it’s not true. But I do position the brush in my hand with my mouth),” she said.
Despite her excellence in the craft, Manglapus never thought of becoming a painter by trade, preferring, instead, to paint in her leisure time.
Even then, she used her paintings to help further PWD goals, once joining five of her paintings in a fundraising by the Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, a rehabilitation and skills training center for people with orthopedic disabilities.
Although she stopped painting after joining CPAP to engage herself full-time in civic work, Manglapus went on to show that PWDs are indeed, capable, not only in their chosen crafts but in nation-building as well.
“Ipapakita namin na ‘yung disability namin, hindi reason para hindi maging productive (Let us show that our disability is not a reason not to be productive),” she said. “Do not focus on your disability, but on your capability.”
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(The author is a journalism major of the University of the Philippines-Diliman. She submitted this story for the journalism seminar class “Reporting on Persons with Disabilities” under VERA Files trustee Yvonne T. Chua.)