ULIKID - PWDs Soar High! Project Title: PWDs Soar High! Counted and Assisted with Sustained Partnerships and Economic Productivity (CASPEP)

The Covid-19 pandemic strongly influenced the crafting of this Project Proposal. Ulikid Parents Organization, Inc. adheres and agrees with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) document on COVID-19 and the Rights of Disabled Persons:Guidance which states that: ‘persons with disabilities are disproportionately impacted due to attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers that are reproduced in the COVID-19 response.’The drastic change brought about by spread of the virus has struck the most defenseless group: the vulnerable youth who are also disabled. The intersectionality of this group further worsens the conditions prevalentto an already marginalized block of society. Their issues and concerns prior to the pandemic are further exacerbated rendering someof them immobilized, without any space – both physical and mental – to release their energies.

The pandemic has literally crippledyoung PWDs. Recent informal discussions conducted by Ulikid withPWD families revealed the following:

1. On Economic assistance: Only50% of PWDs received funds from the government’s Social Amelioration Plan primarily because PWD data is not updated. Thus,only those with PWD Identification Cards received funds;
2. On PWD Data: It is not updated because: a. Most Barangay Officials do not have enough knowledge on the importance of PWD data for their development plans, based on facts given by World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN). b. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is mandated to create a Persons with Disability Office at the barangay level (PDAO), through the creation of Barangay PWD organizations. This has not been mandatorily implemented. c.Barangay Health Workers (BHW) <(>&<)> Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) are not trained to detect signs <(>&<)>symptoms of the varied kinds of physical and mental disabilities. Eventhe enumeratorsof Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for the 2020National Census only counted physical disabilities and did not include other types of disabilities; d. Indigent/poor Filipinos who cannot pay for a session with a Developmental Specialist to get a correct medical abstract, thus are not registered and considered PWDs; e. Lack ofknowledge of most economically marginalized parents/guardians about the signs <(>&<)> symptoms of different disabilities; and f. Shame of the family. (some families do not want to comeout in the open, no acceptance).
3. On Health: Not all PWDs have been given vaccines at this time because vaccination is based on those who had themselves listed and/or those who are mandated to have themselves subjected to like those working in the government or medical institutions. There are PWDs who are hesitant to be vaccinated because they have no clear knowledge and understanding of the vaccines given. Some PWDs claim that there is no information on any adverse effect or clinical trials that hadthem as participants;
4. On Education: There are no special(specialized/modified) modules for PWD students, that are institutionalized by any agency; whether private or government. This is true especially for PWD students who are enrolled in mainstream education (regular school setting). These students have been obliged to be under the schools’ guidelines, policies, and protocol; regardless of their disability (whether known/diagnosed or not). They are then graded according to their capacities, skills, behaviors, attitudes, and comprehension, without considering the underlying condition of the individual concerned. As tothose specialized centers, it has their own formulated instructional materials and management strategies for PWDs.
5. The Right to Suffrage: Anticipating the 2022 National Elections, the lack of data on the exact number and kind of disabilities at the local levelwill hinder some physically disabled persons from voting because of their difficulty in climbing stairs to get to their pollingplaces, etc.