Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

8922
HOUSE BILL No.

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA
Reps. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
FERDINAND R. GAITE and EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR INTERPRETERS IN ALL JUDICIAL,
QUASI-JUDICIAL, INVESTIGATIVE PROCEEDINGS, AND PUBLIC HEARINGS
INVOLVING DEAF INDIVIDUALS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

For most people, the importance of communication is usually taken for granted. But for
individuals constrained by hearing or faced with audiological impairment, the insufficiency
of communication systems and the lack of support for it can cause great injustice and
disparity.

For instance, data from the Philippine Deaf Resource Center (PDRC) show that one out of
three deaf women is a victim of rape while 65 to 70% of deaf children are molested. Of the
82 cases they monitored, 67% of deaf complainants lodged rape complaints while 32% of
deaf respondents were accused of theft.

With the high incidence of criminal cases involving deaf persons, there is an unquestionable
need for interpreters during investigative and judicial proceedings. Unfortunately, the current
system does not have a clear procedure for such. For those financially able, the deaf
individual is left to fend for his or her own interpreter. While those who are capable may
afford an interpreter, what then happens to those who aren’t? Without a proper system to
address the needs of, finding an interpreter may not only delay the proceedings; it may also
spell injustice to the deaf subjects.

QUESTION: is sign language a language only for educated PWDs? How to address
uneducated deaffmutes?

The proposed bill addresses all of these problems. It is the responsibility of the State to
provide for interpreters during any government proceeding, be it for police investigations, in
or out of court, or during public hearings. Hired interpreters should also be entitled to
sufficient pay and rest.

In view of the foregoing, immediate approval thereof is highly recommended.


Approved,
ms a.

Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE
Bayan Muna Party-List

Rep. INAND R. GAITE
Bayan Muna Party-list

Rept g aA Cc. CULLAMAT

Bayan Muna Party-list


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No.8922

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA.
Reps. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
FERDINAND R. GAITE and EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR INTERPRETERS IN ALL JUDICIAL,
QUASI-JUDICIAL, INVESTIGATIVE PROCEEDINGS, AND PUBLIC HEARINGS
INVOLVING DEAF INDIVIDUALS

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the Sign Language Interpreters for
Persons with Disabilities Act.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. ~The State shall give full support to the integration of
persons with disabilities into mainstream society and “exert all efforts to remove all social,
cultural, economic, environmental and attitudinal barriers that are prejudicial” to them,
pursuant of Republic Act No. 7277 or the “Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities.” It is
also a declared policy of the State that all persons shall be given equal opportunity, due
process and speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or
administrative bodies.

SECTION 3. Definition. For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean:

a. Person with disabilities — a person who has a restriction or limitation in personal
mobility, communications, development and others resulting from the interaction
between person with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that
hinders his/her full and effective participation in society on equal basis with others;

b. Disability — an activity limitation or restriction as a result of the interaction
between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that
hinders their full and effective participation in society on equal basis with others;

c. Impairment - any loss, diminution or aberration of psychological, physiological, or
anatomical structure or function;

d. deaf- means a person who has an audiological impairment that makes him / her
unable to hear, or experience difficulty in hearing. Deaf in uppercase D specifically
refers to a person who uses the visual language of the community as his /her
primary means of communication in daily life and supports its goals and values as


a linguistic and cultural minority. This Act primarily refers to individuals who
acquired hearing loss in the early years of life, and not Senior Citizens;

e. Hard of hearing - means a person who can understand words only if spoken very
loud or close to the ear and has severe difficulties if there are other sources of
noise. People who are hard of hearing include those who can be helped with a
hearing aid;

f Linguistically isolated deaf - a deaf individual who has extremely poor overall
communication skills. This individual usually has had minimal or no schooling
and uses only home signs or gestures (j.e., uses signs different from the signs
commonly used in the community); and, has extremely limited vocabulary and
fingerspelling skills;

g. Deaf interpreter or Deaf relay interpreter - an interpreter who is deaf and relays
information between a linguistically isolated deaf client and a hearing interpreter;

h. Consecutive interpreting ~ process of interpreting wherein the interpreter transmits
information into the target language after the speaker / signer pauses upon
completing one or more ideas from the source language:

i, Simultaneous interpreting - process of interpreting into the target language at the
same time the source language is being delivered;

j. Manual communication — various forms of visual-spatial communication utilizing
the hands, face and body. For the Philippines, this includes: the natural sign
language, Filipino Sign Language; Manually Coded English systems, and
nonstandard gestures.

k.

SECTION 4. Hiring of interpreters. — All courts, quasi-judicial bodies, agencies and
government institutions conducting investigations and public hearings shall hire interpreters
for proceedings involving individuals ascertained to be deaf through accepted clinical
standards and procedures. However, a deaf individual may waive the right to an interpreter.
The concerned body that hired the services of the interpreter shall provide the budget for the
prompt payment of interpreters which shall be on a per appearance basis, including travel,
board/lodging as well as other expenses before the case is filed in court.

SECTION 5. Qualifications of interpreters. ~ Until an official and national testing
mechanism and certification procedure is developed for interpreters and recognized by the
government, a qualified interpreter shall be selected on the basis of the following:

a. Endorsement under oath by registered deaf organizations / federation that the
interpreter has interpreting experience of at least four (4) years (for hearing
interpreters), or one (1) year (for deaf interpreters);

b. Empirical demonstration of his/her language competencies and interpreting ability.

Supplementary documentation on language competency and interpretation ability of hearing
interpreters includes interpreter training, work-related interpreting experience, sign language
instruction and relationship to Deaf family members.

Selection of the appropriate qualified interpreter(s) should be based on language competency
which matches that of the deaf client.

A person related within the third degree of affinity or consanguinity to any of the parties,
witnesses, and other participants of the case cannot be appointed as the interpreter.


ey anaAwNe

Deaf counselors who have previously worked with the deaf or the hard of hearing party,
witness, or participant cannot be appointed as interpreter for the case.

SECTION 6. Guidelines. — To protect the rights of the deaf individual and the interpreter/s,
the following guidelines shall be observed:

a. Appointed interpreters provide a service equally to the deaf clients and the hearing
members of the court. Thus, they shall interpret the entire proceeding and not only
the testimony of the deaf party. For cases of sexual abuse, the interpreter/s should
be the same gender as the offended party. Accommodations should be
procedurally and age-appropriate, and also gender-sensitive and non-
discriminatory;

b. For linguistically isolated deaf, the court shall appoint a hearing interpreter and
a Deaf relay interpreter;

©. To address interpreting fatigue, the interpreter must be given adequate rest after 30
minutes of continuous interpreting, according to medically accepted standards for
the prevention of Repetitive Strain Injury;

d. All interpreters are bound by the common duty to observe confidentiality and
neutrality before, during, and after the proceedings;

¢. In cases where there is more than one deaf party, witness or participant, and these
deaf individuals have been ascertained to have different communication and
interpreting needs, then separate interpreters with the required skills shall be
appointed;

f. Consecutive interpreting shall be used when the deaf is linguistically isolated, or in
other situations when this would be more effective than simultaneous interpreting;

g. Interpreting should also be provided during the administration of justice by police
and prison staff.

SECTION 7. Orientation of Interpreters. — Qualified interpreters shall be trained in ethical
responsibilities, terms and legal concepts under a program to be established by the Supreme
Court and the Department of Justice, in partnership with groups such as the Philippine
Federation of the Deaf.

SECTION 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days from the
effectivity of this Act, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the National
Council on Disability Affairs, the Department of Justice, the Supreme Court and other
concerned government bodies and shall work together, in coordination with non-government
organizations and schools concerned with the deaf and Deaf interpreting, and promulgate and
issue the rules and regulations for the implementation of this Act.

SECTION 9. Constitutionality. — Should any provision of this Act be declared invalid or
unconstitutional, the validity or constitutionality of the other provisions shall not be affected
thereby.

SECTION 10. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, letters of instructions, resolutions,
orders, ordinances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are
hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.


SECTION 11. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,