WHEREAS, persons with disabilities, such as those with attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, behavior problem, chronically ill, hearing impaired, learning disabled, mentally challenged, orthopedically handicapped, speech defective, slow learner, visually impaired, among others, comprise a considerable segment of the population;

WHEREAS, persons with disabilities face difficulties dealing with major life activities that include walking, talking, hearing, seeing, breathing, learning, performing manual tasks, and caring for oneself, in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being;

WHEREAS, according to the definition developed by the World Health Organization, disability is not something that person has but, instead, something that occurs outside of the person – the person has a functional limitation. Disability occurs in the interaction between a person, his or her functional ability, and the environment. A person’s environment can be the physical environment, communication environment, information environment, and social and policy environment.

WHEREAS, it is a stark reality that persons with disabilities encounter enormous challenges, not to mention direct physical abuses and discriminatory practices, if and when they compete socially, culturally and educationally, or when they leave the comfort of their homes to places of public accommodation such as restaurants, retail stores, libraries, and hospitals as well as commercial facilities such as offices buildings, warehouses, and factories, such that their conditions usually require additional investments in time, money and other resources from their family, educators and trainors when adopting learning curricula, methodology, facilities and equipment that are not normally present in educational and training institutions;

WHEREAS, if government were to truly help persons with disabilities express their full potential as human beings, there is a need for social services workers, planners, property owners and transportation and communication operators to provide in the design of buildings, facilities and equipment certain variations to allow persons with disabilities gain access on built environment and transportation, training on employment and livelihood, auxiliary social services, education, health, information, communication and technology;

WHEREAS, while the Philippine government has not been remiss in adopting legal frameworks that benefit persons with disabilities in accordance with our cultural practice to care for all members of the family and from international documents and commitments recognizing the rights of persons with disabilities, there is a strong clamor from persons with disabilities and their families not only for full implementation of existing laws and programs but also for focused studies, adoption, expansion, enhancement, and review of policies and programs that will respond to local and international trends and new opportunities in the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, to create a Special Committee on Persons with Disabilities in the House of Representatives;

RESOLVED FURTHER THAT, the Special Committee on Perons with Disabilities shall exercise the duties and powers of a standing committee and shall have jurisdiction over all matters directly and principally relating to policies and programs to protect and promote the rights and welfare of persons with disabilities, prevent the causes of disabilities, promote rehabilitation and create political, cultural and social environments that engender equalization of opportunities among all persons.

Adopted.

ORIGINAL SIGNED
DAVID L. KHORepresentative
Party List, Senior Citizens