Mabalacat Association of Persons with Disability

This is a two minute video explaining the difficulty encountered by blind or deaf user in accessing vital information on the web.

As Goodwill Ambassador of our Department of Tourism at the 30th Congress of the International Theatre Institute in Tampico, Mexico, Cecille Guidote Alvarez’ Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble got such prolonged standing ovations that the ITI concluded its conference with a decision to make the Philippines the site of its next Congress in 2006. This is not the first international recognition that the Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble has received. The UNESCO General Conference awarded them with UNESCO’s Artist for Peace Award and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was privileged to have witnessed both the performance and the awarding ceremony. It is very uplifting to read that some private individuals and groups are being hailed for their outstanding achievement abroad.

The Dreams Ensemble is composed of very able disabled young singers and dancers. The performing group is composed of blind, deaf, speech-impaired, armless and crippled young performers. But they all perform like professional artists. In short, they are very able disabled individuals.

It was then Senator Heherson Alvarez who founded the Dreams Ensemble as the cultural arm of the Earthsavers Movement after returning from the United States where he was exiled during the Marcos regime. His wife, Cecille Guidote Alvarez, the first Filipina to be elected to the UNESCO International Theatre Institute Executive Council and Co-President of its Cultural Identity and Development Committee, is the person who turned Heherson Alvarez’ vision into her personal mission. Jennifer Walpole of the III Secretariat in Paris said that Earthsavers is a troupe that should be seen by the whole world. We are not exaggerating when we say it is only in the Philippines where such a performing group exists and it is thanks to the vision and mission of Heherson and Cecille Alvarez. Incidentally, the performers are children who have been gathered from such organizations like the Kalahi Urban Poor Community and Smokey Mountain.

By pure coincidence, the Earthsavers Dream Ensemble was in Mexico during Philippine Independence Day. And so led by Ambassador Marciano Paynor, it became part of this year’s Independence Day celebration in Mexico. It was only after the opening of the Suez Canal that we had direct contact with Spain. Prior to that, it was through Mexico and our main contact was the galleon trade. We hope that the Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble will also mark the start of more cultural interchanges with Mexico. If Spain is our Mother Country, Mexico is our older brother.

Disabled persons and pregnant women will soon be able to ride in special coaches of the Light Rail Transit and the Metro Rail Transit systems, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said yesterday.

DOTC Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez made the announcement following instructions from President Arroyo to ensure safety and comfort of disabled persons in public transport vehicles by providing them with special facilities.

The presidential order was issued following complaints from the physically disabled sector that most urban mass transportation systems have not adequately provided for their needs.

Alvarez said that although the LRT and MRT systems have stickers that say the elderly and the disabled should be given priority in seats, this has not been strictly enforced. Many PWDs (persons with disabilities) take jeepneys and buses instead.

The absence of special coaches in the megatrains was earlier deplored by the national commission for PWDs.

Alvarez said the megatrain will be designed to contain coaches specifically intended of the lame, the blind and other disabled persons, as well as pregnant women.

“The Light Rail Transit Authority is constructing facilities that can accommodate the handicapped and the blind commuters of the megatrain,” the DOTC chief said.

According to Alvarez, based on Mrs. Arroyo’s instructions, the LRT and MRT stations “will have elevators to serve the disabled, the elderly and pregnant women.”

Alvarez said he has already received a report from LRTA administrator Teddy Cruz Jr. that the PWD-friendly train coaches will be operational next year.

As an added feature, the elevators of the megatrain will have Braille engraving to allow the blind to read directions.

Similar features will be found inside the coaches.

For the visually impaired, they will also be guided “by tactile or tiles that have buttons.”

A public address system will also be installed in all stations to provide instructions to the PWDs, especially the blind.

“Inside the coaches, there will be enough space for those on wheelchairs and there will likewise be seats for infants and pregnant mothers,” the DOTC statement said.