Manifesto amending Accessibility Law, Bldg Code signed

CEBU – Advocates of the universal standards of accessibility in Central Visayas yesterday signed a manifesto that calls for the amendment of Batas Pambansa 344 or the Accessibility Law and the New Building Code of the Philippines.

The signatories include the city’s Accessibility Monitoring Committee, Organization of Rehabilitation Agencies, Regional Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons, and Infrastructure Development Committee of the Regional Development Council.

The manifesto says the signatories shall endeavor to build a “society for all” and to recognize the rights of persons with disabilities, in line with the general principles of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The signatories said the 25-year old BP 344 and the New Building Code are open to erroneous interpretation and outright violation because they allegedly do not promote “universal or inclusive designs,” defined by the UN CRPD as “the designs of products, environments, programs and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.”

The signatories and participants in yesterday’s forum on universal accessibility committed to promote and incorporate the specifications of universal and inclusive design in their planning and project implementation, as well as in their monitoring activities.

The signing of manifesto was conducted at the National Economic Development Authority conference room in Sudlon, barangay Lahug. — Niña Chrismae G. Sumacot/JMO (THE FREEMAN)