By JAKE SORIANO Photos by DANIEL ABUNALES IF all goes according to plan, voting next year will be more convenient for persons with disabilities (PWDs). Areas with high concentrations of PWD voters might see the last of cramped public school classrooms, as polling could be transferred to hundreds of air-conditioned malls nationwide. The Commission on
[metaslider id=32959] By JAKE SORIANO MANILA AND DAVAO CITY — Express lanes and priority treatment were of little help for persons with disabilities (PWDs) who turned up at election offices on the last week of voter registration. Commission of Elections (Comelec) offices and satellite registration centers were swamped last week, causing logistical problems for its
By DANIEL ABUNALES RAY Charles, Stevie Wonder, Andrea Bocelli: world-renowned artists with visual impairments yet with exceptional musical talents. They’ve had countless performances before admiring fans. Unfortunately in the Philippines, visually impaired talents are often relegated to street sidewalks or found performing under a bridge, a donation box close by. Stationed in crowded areas, they
Text and video by GRAZIELLE CHUA THE multi-awarded athlete holds his right fist to his chest as he recalls the moment the Philippine flag was being raised after he won at the 9th Far East and South Pacific (FESPIC) Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2006. Besting more than 40 countries in the pentathlon wheelchair event
By VJ BACUNGAN DRIVING a manual can be agonizing for many drivers, especially in the stop-start traffic of the often-gridlocked metro. Anyone who has been on EDSA or C-5 during rush hour knows the strain of constantly pushing and balancing the clutch pedal just to move at a snail’s pace, like a sadistic dance between
By CAMILLE AGUINALDO RAPHAEL Torralba never thought that a fall from the stairs would change his life forever. The impact of the accident when he was two years old left him with tinnitus, a ringing in the ears. He tried to subdue this unnerving feeling by covering his ears but to no avail. Every time
Text and photos by JOHN FRANCES C. FUENTES DAVAO CITY — Wheelchair user Sofronio Floro, 54, has carefully assembled an armchair, one of the hundreds he and his fellow workers with disabilities have made the past couple of days. The armchairs and desks will be shipped hundreds of miles away from the city — to
By YVETTE B. MORALES CZARINAH Mercado was nervous. It was her first time to stand before a huge crowd. Clad in a persimmon dress made by a famous Filipino designer, she knew all eyes were on her. Only she couldn’t see them. Guided by a white cane, Mercado confidently strutted down the runway to show
Text and video by GRAZIELLE CHUA and VERLIE RETULIN AS a Deaf student, Ana Kristina Arce had to transfer from one school to another, trying to find the best one to accommodate her needs—a costly undertaking that consumed both her time and effort. Now a professor at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB)’s
By RONN BAUTISTA and KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING (Conclusion) IN the Philippines, sign language insets in free-to-air television channels are almost unheard of. Out of Metro Manila’s 18 channels, only one features a sign language interpreter alongside its news programs. Citing logistical and aesthetic concerns, most private TV networks hesitate to include insets in their newscasts despite
