PWD-FRIENDLY. The provincial government of Iloilo awards three persons with disability PWD)-friendly municipalities in a ceremony to culminate the National Disability Prevention Week held at the provincial capitol on Friday (July 28, 2023). The award seeks to encourage LGUs to address the development needs of the sector in their locality by providing funds and establishing the persons with disability affairs office, among others. (PNA photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY – The provincial government continues to push the mainstreaming of persons with disability (PWDs) in Iloilo by recognizing local government units (LGUs) with initiatives promoting the welfare and development of the sector.
On Friday, LGUs were recognized as Most PWD-Friendly Municipalities to cap the 45th National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) Week in a ceremony held at the provincial capitol here.
Provincial Ordinance number 2015-123 established the “Search for the Most PWD-Friendly Municipality” for LGUs to organize and make functional their association of PWDs, establish their Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) and allocate funds for their programs and projects, among others.
The awardees included the municipalities of New Lucena (champion), Leganes (1st runner-up), and Pototan (2nd runner-up) with corresponding cash prizes of PHP50,000, PHP30,000 and PHP20,000, respectively.
The municipalities of Guimbal, Miagao and Tigbauan were named finalists.
In his message, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said the provincial government will include in its programs and projects PWDs and treat them like normal individuals.
“They should be included in the program of the government as a whole because they are just one of us,” he said, adding that to do it completely, the province has to make adjustments.
Defensor emphasized that the word preventive is important to the province more than rehabilitation, so programs under the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) should also focus on prevention.
He added that the top three causes of disability in the province are stroke, accident and polio.
“We recognized those things so that we can work harder for the prevention like we work as hard in our rehabilitation. We look forward to our municipalities in adjusting everything that we do for our PWDs,” he added.
During the ceremony, the province also recognized 38 PWD graduates who were recipients of the provincial government’s education program.
Of the graduates, 11 have Latin honors, including two magna cum laude and nine cum laude.
Joining the culminating ceremony were National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) Regional Program Coordinator Delfina Jaleco-Baquir, PSWDO head Sarah M. Barayuga, and PSWDO PWD focal person Rara Ganzon. (PNA)
