JUNE 18, 2012 DATE

NR # 2774B
REF. NO.

Solons want to institutionalize Employment Facilitation Office for PWDs

Lawmakers are pushing for the immediate passage of a bill institutionalizing a national employment facilitation service network for persons with disabilities (PWD) to help them become self-reliant and productive members of society. House Bill 6223 authored by Reps. Diosdado M. Arroyo (2nd District, Camarines Sur) and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2nd District, Pampanga), otherwise known as the Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) Employment Facilitation Office Act, which seeks to promote employment opportunities for PWDs. The measure requires the establishment of a Persons With Disabilities Employment Facilitation Office (PWDEFO) that will provide a venue where PWDs could find and explore various employment options, seek training assistance for possible employment ventures. The PWDEFO will also serve as referral and information center for the various services and programs being provided by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and other government agencies with respect to the welfare and employment of persons and disabilities. Under the measure, the DOLE shall be primarily responsible for the administration of the PWDEFO Program through its Bureau of Local Employment, as well as its regional offices throughout the country. The PWDEFO shall be linked to the regional offices of DOLE for coordination and technical supervision, and to the DOLE central office, to constitute the national employment service network. The establishment of a community-based PWDEFO in all capital towns of provinces, key cities and other strategic areas will be maintained largely by local government units (LGUs) and a number of non-government organizations (NGOs) or community-based organizations (CBOs), Arroyo said. The PWDEFO shall encourage employers to submit on a regular basis a list of job vacancies available for persons with disabilities in their respective establishments in order to facilitate the exchange of the labor market. Among others, the PWDEFO shall develop skills improvement training modules for PWDs and provide access to various livelihood and self-employment programs offered by both government and non-governmental organizations.

JUNE 18, 2012 DATE

NR # 2774B
REF. NO.

Our government has always been and remains to be active in addressing and improving the plight of our PWDs, Macapagal-Arroyo said. Macapagal-Arroyo said earlier Congresses have enacted various laws pertaining to the welfare of disabled persons including Republic Act 9442 also known as An Act Amending the Magna Carta for the Disabled Persons; Republic Act 7277 also known as Magna Carta for Disabled Persons and Batas Pambansa 344, otherwise known as the Accessibility Law. The government is also a signatory to International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 159, otherwise known as the Convention on Vocational Rehabilitation of Persons With Disabilities, Macapagal-Arroyo said. The measure also mandates the Department of Health (DOH), in coordination with the DOLE and the National Council on the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP) to conduct an annual Nationwide Disability Prevalence Survey and develop a system of reliable information on disability in the country. The Survey shall determine the prevalence of disability, its distribution of disability in the country and the various regions with respect to age, sex and type of disability; and to determine the status of rehabilitation and the rehabilitation needs of the PWD in the country. Arroyo said, disability as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is any restriction or lack of ability (resulting from impairment) to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. Impairments associated with disabilities may be physical, mental or sensory motor impairment such as partial or total blindness and deafness, muteness, speech defect, orthopedic handicaps, and mental retardation. The categories of disability used almost in all surveys include total blindness, partial blindness, low vision, total deafness, partial deafness, being hard of hearing, oral defect, one hand, no hands, no legs, quadriplegic (regular), quadriplegic (severe), retarded (regular), retarded (severe), multiple impairment (regular) and multiple impairment (severe), Arroyo said. Through these employment opportunities being provided by the State, we will not only help boost the self confidence of our PWDs, but enable them to be self-sufficient and productive members of their respective communities, Arroyo said. (30) jsc