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By JAKE SORIANO IN December last year, blind massage therapists from Zamboanga City traveled all the way to Cagayan de Oro to undergo licensing exams. They took the nearly 500-km journey because their jobs were on the line. But Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit) struck, and they were told to go home. No exams meant no licenses.
OUT of school children and youth, including those with disabilities, can as early as now enroll for the upcoming school year (2015-2016), which begins in June. The Department of Education (Dep Ed) has declared January 24 to February 27, 2015 a period of early registration for school-age children who are not currently enrolled. The order
Text and photos by JAKE SORIANO THE message of the estimated 12,000 “angels with wings” dancing to the beat of Taylor Swift’s pop hit “Shake It Off” was a simple one: awareness, acceptance and inclusion of persons with autism in society. “What we want is for the Philippines to be autism-OK,” said Autism Society of
FOLLOWING complaints, budget carrier Cebu Pacific now aims to be more sensitive to the needs of passengers with disabilities. At the company’s request, National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) Acting Executive Director Carmen Zubiagalast week led in the orientation of flight cabin staff and reservation officers of the airline. “Discussed during the seminar workshops were
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
Text and photos by JAKE SORIANO PERSONS with disabilities (PWDs) are now guaranteed the best market for their products and services: the government. The signing last year of the implementing rules and regulations of Executive Order 417 or the Economic Independence Program for PWDs, is key to providing sustainable livelihoods for PWDs, say advocates. “PWDs are
By JAKE SORIANO COTABATO City – Persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) who still have not registered should do so now, an election coalition said. While nationwide voters’ registration is set until October 31 this year, the schedule is tighter for those within the ARMM because of the looming
Text and photos by JAKE SORIANO COTABATO City – Her arrival, like her life, remains a mystery. One day she just appeared in the streets of Upi, a town in Maguindanao roughly an hour’s drive away from here. She was homeless, filthy, in tattered clothes. No one knows where she is from, or who her family
By JAKE SORIANO JULIET Lara has dystonia, a chronic neurological illness that affects her muscle movement. “Nanginginig yung katawan ko pag hindi ako nakakainom ng gamot (My body shakes when I fail to drink my medicine),” she said. Even though dystonia impairs her ability to perform everyday activities, Juliet cannot secure a person with disability
By JAKE SORIANO COTABATO CITY– Lack of information dissemination, accessibility of polling centers, and security are some of the major issues raised by groups promoting the rights of voters with disabilities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). In a dialogue here between government agencies and nongovernment organizations a year and a half away
