EDITORIAL - An inclusive environment

Ramps for wheelchairs, priority seating on mass transportation facilities, TV hand signals for the hearing-impaired, priority parking slots and special lavatories are just among the improvements made in the past years to make life easier for persons with disabilities. Laws have also been passed to promote employment for PWDs, provide access to continuing education and enhance their participation in all aspects of national life.

Promoting the welfare of PWDs, however, can still go a long way. Apart from assisting PWDs in activities requiring mobility and in becoming financially self-sufficient, policies and measures are also needed to prevent disabilities and provide rehabilitation services.

Preventive measures are necessary especially in certain industries where exposure to hazardous elements and working conditions can cause both temporary and permanent disabilities. Safety standards have been set in areas such as construction and mining, but these are not always followed. In poorly regulated sectors such as the firecracker and pyrotechnics industry, even young boys are employed in backyard enterprises, making the combustible products by hand with no protection for the skin, face and respiratory system.

Apart from promoting safety in the workplace to prevent disabilities, the government must also provide assistance in PWD rehabilitation. This normally requires time and it doesn’t come cheap. Access to such services is available to the poor mainly through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, but government resources for such services are acutely limited. Providing additional resources for PWD rehabilitation is among the major challenges as the nation marks National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week.

The 35th observance of the special week, which kicked off on July 17, focuses on building an “inclusive and non-handicapping environment” for PWDs. Progress has been achieved for PWDs since the first observance of this special week. The next years should see even more improvements in the welfare of PWDs.