THE UBIQUITOUS RAMPS at office building entrances may point to a metropolis that’s becoming friendlier to persons with disabilities (PWDs), but a closer look at present provisions reveals the country’s continuing incapacity to properly accommodate this marginalized segment.

An audit conducted during the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week in July last year, for instance, showed that only two government buildings- the Philippine Port Authority and the TESDA Training Center Building – received a passing grade on PWD accessibility.

While not limited to facilities alone – the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stresses that accessibility also applies ‘to transportation [and] to information and communications including information and communications technologies and systems’ – these oversights continue to hamper the ability of PWDs to integrate themselves normally into society.

Many structures already have the required ramp for PWDs, but this doesn’t always meet the specifications outlined by law, said retired Navy Captain Oscar Taleon, president and CEO of the Alyansa ng mga Kapansanang Pinoy (AKAP-Pinoy), Inc. With a required one foot to 12feet vertical to horizontal ratio, a correctly built ramp not only smoothens building entry for PWDs, but also for pregnant women and senior citizens.

The same deficiencies are found in local comfort rooms. The majority of public restrooms lack grab bars, a low toilet bowl, and a door that swings outward – the minimum requirements for a bathroom unit for the disabled. And many of those who do have PWD friendly cubicles appear to have put them up more for show than for function. Sometimes used as a storage area for bathroom supplies, it becomes just another unit that PWDs can’t occupy. ‘Another problem here is that most of the cubicles for PWDs are usually locked, so you still have to talk to the manager to be able to use them,’ said Mr. Taleon.

The list goes on outside the building: Parking spaces reserved for those with disabilities are routinely taken up by those who don’t really have the need for them. It doesn’t help that there’s still the misinformed notion that PWDs are limited to just the wheelchair users. ‘Many
people, especially the security guards, still think that way,’ said Mr. Taleon.

Proper attitudes towards the disabled are outlined in the country’s Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities, or Republic Act No. 7277, which details the different rules and regulations to promote the quality of life of this often neglected group. But having such measures on paper has failed to correct the general bias against PWDs and their needs. ‘We already have the laws [to make this country PWD-friendly], but we lack the implementation,’ said Mr. Taleon.

Bien Mateo, SM Committee on Disability Affairs chairman, agrees. ‘Political will in upholding the rights of PWDs is very much needed from the government,’ he said. ‘[But the] private sector can make a big contribution.’ His department, for instance, has instructed its janitors and security guard to assist PWDs when they are within the premises of SM shopping malls. The challenge, he said, lies in helping out those whose disabilities aren’t as conspicuous – autism, hearing impairments, ADHD, and epilepsy.

Creating standard procedures in the area is a task that the state has yet to take up: dole-outs, albeit handed with good intentions, hardly dignifies the status of the sector. ‘The government should also consult PWDs when it comes to policy-making,’ said Mr. Taleon. ‘We know more about our concerns than any other people.’