MANILA -- To better serve persons with disability (PWDs) in their region, the Department of Health (DOH) in Calabarzon on Thursday launched an orientation on regional registry creation for PWDs in Quezon City.
“This orientation is important for our MHOs (municipality health officers), CHOs (city health officers) and PHOs (provincial health officers), through this we can facilitate and share data for the PWDs so we can categorize their illnesses correctly with regard to the issuance of their PWD cards,” DOH Calabarzon Health and Wellness Program for PWDs coordinator Paulina Calo told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Calo explained the region aims to have its own updated registry to help their MHOs, CHOs and PHOs in identifying qualified applicants of PWD IDs.
“Kasi may mga lumalapit sa kanila sinasabi may disability daw sila na ganito na ganoon, tapos magagalit sila kapag hindi sila mabibigyan ng tulong, ng IDs dahil di naman sila disabled (Because there are people approaching them that they have this or that disability, then they’ll be mad if they’re not provided help, with IDs since they are not disabled),” she said.
Calo added that there is a national registry for PWDs which is updated every ten years only but DOH Calabarzon wants to have its own registry which would be updated yearly.
Calabarzon consists of the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.
Having an updated regional registry will give all PWDs in the area an opportunity to be included in the database, be classified under the correct disability category and receive appropriate benefits.
“Sa pamamagitan nito, mahahanap lahat ng PWDs dahil hindi naman lahat naka-register sa NCDA (National Council for Disability Affairs) at maserbisyuhan ang lahat. Maaari din sila sadyain sa kanilang mga bahay (Through this all PWDs would be located since not all of them are registered in the NCDA and provide service for all. They could also be visited in their homes),” she said.
Apart from updates on the national disability program, the regional MHOs, CHOs and PHOs were briefed on the proper categorization of disabilities regarding PWD card issuance, benefits and discounts for PWDs and an overview on national disability.
NCDA Officer-in-Charge of Technical Cooperation Division Dandy Victa said only those who have communication, learning, orthopedic, physiological, psychological and visual disabilities are qualified to have a PWD card.
Meanwhile, NCDA Project Evaluation Officer II Crisanto Perez discussed the many benefits and discounts PWDs are entitled to, saying they can have discounts on food, medicine, fare and other services.
"Kahit sa Grab makukuha ang discount kasi meron po silang (Even in Grab you can get a discount because they have a) system once you declare you're a PWD and they're able to verify it you can avail of the discount," Perez said.
He said having a PWD ID card is important when PWDs want to avail full benefits. On the part of the businesses providing discounts to PWDs, the PWD ID cards enable them to prove their claim for tax exemption.
Perez encouraged PWDs who have not applied for a PWD ID to accept their disability and to connect with relevant government agencies and support groups to know their rights.
"Tanggapin nila ang sarili nilang kapansanan para makuha nila ang benefits and privileges. Makukuha naman nila lahat ng impormasyon sa internet kung saang government agencies sila dapat lumapit tungkol sa mga karapatan nila in particular yung NCDA kung saan pwede sila mag-walk-in (They must accept their own disability so they can avail all the benefits and privileges. They can get all the information on the internet as to which government agencies they must approach about their rights in particular the NCDA where they can walk-in)," he said.
Calo said the orientation will be followed by the creation of registry with the help of DSWD and other partner government agencies which might take a month or a few months to complete. (PNA)
