COTABATO City — Every municipality in Maguindanao is expected this year to have an office for persons with disabilities (PWDs), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) here said.
The provincial board unanimously approved last month an ordinance directing local governments to create a Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) down to the municipal level.
DSWD Maguindanao focal person for PWD issues Nestor Cabigas Jr. said the department is set to conduct site visits over the next two months to check compliance.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) ordered the establishment of PDAOs nationwide in a memorandum issued in September 2010 pursuant to Republic Act 10070, the law ensuring the implementation of programs for PWDs.
But Maguindanao, being part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which exercises self-governing powers, could not implement it right away.
“Kailangan mo muna idaan sa Regional Assembly (The creation of PDAO needs to pass through the Regional Assembly first),” explained Cabigas.
The institutionalization of disability offices across Maguindanao should fix fund allocation and other problems even in the poorest municipalities, added Cabigas, whose post as focal person is at present contractual.
Among the functions of the PDAO are to formulate policies for PWDs, coordinate the implementation of national laws, represent the sector in councils and special bodies, gather and compile relevant data, disseminate information, and seek donations and monitor fundraising activities.
In poorer municipalities, from 4th to 6th class towns, a focal person may be designated to perform the functions of the PDAO.
As of 2014, DSWD has recorded 3,788 PWDs living in Maguindanao. – Jake Soriano, VERA Files
