By RONN BAUTISTA and KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING (First of two parts) SUPPERTIME in the Philippines is often accompanied by the start of local primetime newscasts in Filipino homes. At 6:30 p.m., media networks ABS-CBN, GMA-7 and TV-5 begin broadcasting their flagship news programs. While the rest of the country follows the rundown of the day’s newsworthy events, a
[metaslider id=32200] By VERA FILES THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday launched a satellite voter registration and validation in several shopping malls in Metro Manila, but turnout was low. A combination of heavy rain and lack of information dissemination hampered the registration of persons with disabilities and other voters. In five areas, Comelec personnel
By VJ BACUNGAN and DANICA UY A BEVY of red tricycles hurtle down Bonifacio Avenue, a four-lane national highway cutting through Cainta town in Rizal, their buzzy two-stroke engines leaving plumes of blue smoke in their wake. They overtake another tricycle which, even from afar, stands out from the rest. At six feet tall, this tricycle towers over
By JAKE SORIANO Photos and video by DANIEL ABUNALES IT was not a typical scene during voters’ registration. Hundreds of prospective voters from Quezon City, including persons with disabilities (PWDs), lined up early morning of Independence Day at a covered court in Barangay Bagumbahay. But while waiting for their turn, they were treated to a
DAVAO CITY – After almost a year of waiting, persons with disabilities (PWD) in Davao City can now avail themselves of services in the newly opened PWD Affairs Office here. Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte signed an executive order creating the interim persons with disability affairs office on July 21, 2014. But it was not
By JAKE SORIANO COTABATO City — The May 2016 presidential elections are less than a year away, but only a handful of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are eligible to vote. More than 100,000 PWDs of voting age are still not registered or have not validated their registration
By JAKE SORIANO THE “Visit the Philippines” 2015 campaign is well underway and those involved in the program are working to ensure that persons with disabilities will also get to enjoy the best the country has to offer. Stakeholders from the tourism, transportation and disability sectors are pushing for measures to pursue what they call “accessible
By JOHN PAUL ECARMA MAUNES and JAKE SORIANO CEBU CITY – Deaf triathlete Lester Lagos remembers that afternoon in Cebu very well. Visiting a training session of deaf student athletes after taking part in an international triathlon competition in Cebu, he was deeply disheartened to see them practice barefoot, and without the proper sports gear
Text and photos by JAKE SORIANO The Philippines until now has no accessible public transport for persons with disabilities (PWDs). Advocates lament this sad fact, and are calling for a more PWD-friendly and inclusive system for the sector. After all, PWDs travel too. (See Public transport still not PWD-friendly – advocates) As signatory to the
By JAKE SORIANO PWDs travel too. The head of the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) reminded the country’s transportation department this, as she called for a more accessible and inclusive public transport system for the sector. “Kasi akala nila(They probably think) persons with disabilities are not traveling, or persons with disabilities are not going
