Sen. Recto files bill creating office to monitor benefits for disabled

A bill filed in the Senate to create Persons with Disabilities Affairs Offices in every province, city and municipality nationwide aims to integrate all programs of national government agencies for the disabled and monitor whether these services are really available to the target sector.

National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons deputy executive director Mateo Lee Jr. said Senate Bill No. 1375 sponsored by Senator Ralph Recto will not in any way duplicate the functions of national agencies.

The creation of PWDs Affairs Offices in every local government unit across the country will instead serve as a monitoring office to ensure that targets of national agencies' programs for PWDs are met apart from planning programs and projects as well as conducting information advocacy drives.

Lee, in a recent regional media forum on disability and public hearing on the bill in Cebu City, revealed his observation that national government agencies do not consider programs of the disabled as top priority areas and this resulted in a gap in the program implementation in the organizational structure to provide services to the disabled who seek to improve and promote their general welfare, according to Lee.

A similar version of the bill has already been filed in Congress and has already gotten plenary approval. Although national agencies have already been implementing programs for the disabled sentiments received from the said sector have it that programs are not given priority while program implementation is done independently, Lee said.

Recto's bill is designed to strengthen the programs for the disabled into one comprehensive program as the present structure does not combine all programs of national agencies for the disabled, Lee added. - Gregg M. Rubio/BRP