Bilingualism and Deaf Education Seminar

By Ana Kristina Arce

A Bilingualism and Deaf Education seminar was held in the DLS-CSB Auditorium last November 20, 2008 during the celebration of the Deaf Festival week. Mr. Raphael Domingo, a 3rd year student of the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies, Vice-President of the Benildean Deaf Association, a deaf student organization in DLS-CSB, former President of the Philippine Federation of the Deaf and a member of the management committee of the World Federation for the Deaf-Asia Pacific, conducted the lecture.

Deaf participants and hearing teachers attended from Manila High School, Caloocan High School and School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies. Hearing students also attended the lecture as part of their ORDEV (Orientation Development of Values) class.

Bilingual is used to describe a person who uses two or more languages. For the Deaf, bilingual means that they use two forms of language to communicate: sign language and written English. When communicating with the hearing community, the Deaf use written English. With their fellow Deaf peers, medium of communication is sign language.

According to Raphael Domingo’s lecture, the Department of Education has two documents since 1997: Policies and Guidelines for Special Education from SPED Division and the handbook of Special Education from SPED Division. The first anchors Philippine deaf education on the philosophy of Total Communication and states “the medium of instruction should be Filipino Sign Language”. The second document recommends the use of Total Communication as “most advisable for … teaching the hearing impaired starting in grade three with English as medium of instruction.”

However, guidelines on bilingualism are still unclear. In the private and public schools, hearing teachers of the Deaf are not aware about Deaf needs. “There is one reason: most of the hearing teachers of the Deaf have learned FSL as a third or fourth language because they usually are used simultaneously with signed English”, Raphael Domingo explained.

Raphy Domingo shared his experience in the World Federation of the Deaf conference in Sweden last August. Swedish Asa Helmersson presented about the teaching of Deaf children: reading and writing. According to Asa Hemersson, about 50 % of the deaf students in Sweden reach a level of Swedish language equivalent to hearing students of the same age. How will they accomplish their literacy? Good education for Deaf children requires the following: easily accessible Deaf child’s language, the families’ and Deaf child’s spare time, preschool, teachers’ knowledge about sign language and quiet language (written form) of Deaf children. Language should be strengthened to develop Deaf child’s esteem and Deaf children’s range of potientals through sign language. An interesting fact in Sweden is that their government requires hearing parents, who gave birth to deaf child/children, to be on leave from work for a period of six months with pay to be able to learn sign language.

It is recommended that parents, who gave birth to Deaf children, send their deaf children to pre-school as early as they can for the deaf to learn their natural sign language. In Sweden, Raphy was pleasantly surprised when he conversed with Swedish Deaf children who were as intelligent as adults, which is proof that their guidelines and policies on language are effective.

The Department of Education in the Philippines should also develop Deaf teachers who can serve as role models for young Deaf children and can provide comprehensible input during classes. DepEd should review policies and guidelines and streamline policy practice for clarification. Filipino sign language should be used to teach Deaf children in classrooms for the development of Deaf literacy. The bilingual-bicultural model supports Deaf literacy development. These recommendations are from Ms. Rosalinda Ricasa during her lecture at the Bilingualism and Literacy Seminar in 2005.

According to Ms. Rosalinda Ricasa, if Filipino Sign Language supports the structure to English, Deaf students will be fluent in English. Otherwise, they will not develop in English.

As a Deaf student on my 4th year in college, I support the abovementioned recommendations because I have also experienced problems with Deaf literacy since I was a child. Hearing teachers of the Deaf should be trained on teaching methods appropriate for Deaf children. The natural sign language of the Deaf should be used in teaching the Deaf. Being fluent in Filipino Sign Language, the Deaf children are able to develop their literacy skills if learning is facilitated through their natural language.

SILENT ODYSSEY

Everyone is invited to watch the screening of SILENT ODYSSEY: The First Feature-Length Documentary Film on Filipino Deaf Culture on November 18, 20, 21, 2008

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!
Php 100 Regular Price, Php 50 for Deaf people

For inquiries, contact:
E-mail: sdeas.opd@gmail.com
Tel. no.: 526-7441 local 239
Cell no.: 0927-2246584

REVILLA FILES CLOSED CAPTION BILL

PRESS RELEASE
Office of Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr.
12 November 2008

REVILLA FILES CLOSED CAPTION BILL

To ensure equal access of deaf Filipinos to public information, Senator Bong Revilla today filed a bill that would require all,televis!on ne!works to put closed captions in their news programs.
In his speech during the National Conference on Sustainable Partnership1for Deaf Transformation held today (Wednesday, November 12, 2008) at the Ople Hall of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the senator said there is an estimated 4.5 million deaf Filipinos, most of them poor,who have no access to programs that will help them realize their full potentials. "This is a very sad reality and government makes it worse by turning a blind eye to this fact. Thisis our biggest hurdle, and we will transcend this if we, the private sector and the government, work
together and share in this responsibility," said Revilla, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media.

Revilla stressed that all Filipinos should have equal rights guaranteed under the Constitution. "One of these rights that particularly elude the deaf is access to information. We must uphold Section . 7 of our Constitution that says the right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized," he explained.

In pushing for an equal access to public information of deaf and hard of hearing Filipinos, Revilla simultaneously filed Senate Bill 2872 that would oblige all franchise holders or operators of television networks or stations and producers of television news programs to have these news programs broadcast with closed caption.
Closed-captioning refers to the method of subtitling television programs by coding statements as vertical interval data signal that are decoded at the receiver and superimposed at the bottom of the television screen.

Under the bill, any owner or operator of television networks or stations and any producer of television news programs who shall violate the requirement shall be punished by a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) but not more than One Hundred Thousand Pesos (PlOO,OOO.OOo) or ,by imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not more than one (1) year or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.

If the offender is a corporation, partnership or association, or any other judicial person, the president, manager, administrator or the person-in-charge of the management of the business shall be liable therefore. In addition, the license or permit to operate the business shall be cancelled.
~~
"The passage of this bill will address the constitutional mandate for the state to recognize the basic right of the people to information on matters of public concern," Revilla pointed out.

My Silent World, Original video

Deaf MTV written, produced and directed by DLS-CSB graduate Jamilla Angela H. Aquino for her thesis. Performed by Diana Pria Bañas, Choreographed by Myra Medrana.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s message on the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as delivered by Mark Malloch Brown, Deputy Secretary-General, in New York, today, 13 December:



For most people in this room, today marks an important event: the day the General Assembly adopts the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. But for 650 million persons around the world living with disabilities, today promises to be the dawn of a new era -- an era in which disabled people will no longer have to endure the discriminatory practices and attitudes that have been permitted to prevail for all too long.


This Convention is a remarkable and forward-looking document. While it focuses on the rights and development of people with disabilities, it also speaks about our societies as a whole -- and about the need to enable every person to contribute to the best of their abilities and potential.



Throughout the ages, the treatment of people with disabilities has brought out some of the worst aspects of human nature. Too often, those living with disabilities have been seen as objects of embarrassment, and at best, of condescending pity and charity. Societies have even gone out of their way to ensure that persons with disabilities are neither seen nor heard. On paper, they have enjoyed the same rights as others; in real life, they have often been relegated to the margins and denied the opportunities that others take for granted.



It was the community of the disabled themselves that worked tirelessly and insistently to promote this Convention, and the United Nations responded. In three short years, the Convention became a landmark several times over: it is the first human rights treaty to be adopted in the twenty-first century; the most rapidly negotiated human rights treaty in the history of international law; and the first to emerge from lobbying conducted extensively through the Internet.



We have already learnt from experience, in countries that have implemented legislation related to disability, that change comes more rapidly when laws are in place. Once the Convention is adopted, signed and ratified, it will have an impact on national laws that will transform how people with disabilities can live their lives. It will offer a way forward to ensure that those with disabilities enjoy the same human rights as everyone else -- in education, employment, access to buildings and other facilities, and access to justice.



It will not happen overnight. Much work remains to be done to produce the results that are aspired from the Convention. I urge all Governments to start by ratifying, and then implementing it, without delay.



This adoption happens to fall, in the Western Christian calendar, on the day of Saint Lucy, celebrated in some countries as the patron saint both of blindness and of light. Let us ensure that this day indeed marks a new dawn. Let it usher in an age when all those living with disabilities around the world become fully fledged citizens of their societies.

GUIDELINES ON THE ISSUANCE OF IDENTIFICATION CARD RELATIVE TO REPUBLIC ACT 9442

NCDA Administrative Order No. 001 Series of 2008

GUIDELINES ON THE ISSUANCE OF IDENTIFICATION CARD RELATIVE TO REPUBLIC ACT 9442

I. RATIONALE

1. Pursuant to Republic Act No. 9442 as amendment to Republic Act 7277, otherwise known as the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons and For Other Purposes, these foregoing guidelines shall serve as a mechanism for the issuance of a Person With Disability Identification Card.

2. These guidelines have been formulated by the National Council on Disability Affairs in coordination with the Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Department of Interior and Local Government as provided for in Rule IV, Section 6.11 of the IRR.

3. Identification Cards shall be issued to any bonafide PWD with permanent disabilities due to any one or more of the following conditions: psychosocial, chronic illness, learning, mental, visual, orthopedic, speech and hearing conditions. This includes persons suffering from disabling diseases resulting to the person’s limitations to do day to day activities as normally as possible such as but not limited to those undergoing dialysis, heart disorders, severe cancer cases and such other similar cases resulting to temporary or permanent disability.

4. The Identification Card shall be the basis for the provision of certain special privileges and discounts to bonafide PWDs in the Philippines in accordance with RA 9442.

5. PWD-IDCs shall served as proof for availment of discount to ensure that persons with disabilities shall fully enjoy the benefits and privileges as provided for in RA 9442.

II. ACRONYMS

COD – Certificate of Disability
DILG – Department of Interior and Local Government
DOH – Department of Health
DOH-PPWDRS - Department of Health-Philippine PWD Registry System
DSWD – Department of Social Welfare Development
LGU – Local Government Unit
MC – Medical Certificate
NCDA – National Council on Disability Affairs
PWD-IDC – PWD Identification Card
PWD-RF – PWD Registration Form
PWD – Person With Disability
SWDO - Social Welfare Development Office

III. OBJECTIVES

These guidelines on the issuance of PWD-IDC relative to Republic Act 9442 aim to:

1. Provide guidance to all local government officials, licensed physicians, local health officers, and government agencies in the issuance of PWD-IDC for the privileges and incentives provided for by R.A. 9442 to PWDs.

2. Facilitate monitoring by the appropriate government agency the use of the PWD-IDC.

3. Protect the establishments from illegitimate claims or fraudulent practices on the use of the PWD-IDC.

4. Ensure PWDs an easy availment of the privileges by providing the establishments a way to immediately identify the beneficiaries.

IV. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

A. The Local Government Unit of the City or Municipal Office shall implement these guidelines in the issuance of the PWD-IDC.

B. The City or Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office shall:

1. Reproduce/Print the PWD-RFs to be filled out by the PWDs in accordance with the DOH Philippine Registry Form for Persons With Disability.

2. Reproduce/Print the PWD-IDCs.

3. Distribute the PWD-IDCs to their respective city executive’s office, municipalities, or barangays who shall take custody of the ID cards.

4. Enter or encode the data from the approved PWD-RF as forwarded by the City or Municipal Mayor, or Barangay Captain.

C. PWD-RFs or application forms can be obtained from any of the following registration centers or means:

1. Office of the Mayor

2. Office of the Barangay Captain

3. NCDA or its regional counterpart

4. DSWD offices

5. Participating organizations with Memorandum of Agreements with the DOH

6. DOH Online Registration - www.doh.gov.ph/pwd_registry

D. Issuance of the appropriate document to confirm the medical condition of the applicant is as follows:<Br>
Disability Document Issuing Entity

Apparent Disability Medical Certificate Licensed Private or Government Physician

School Assessment Licensed Teacher duly signed by the School Principal

Certificate of Disability
• Head of the Business Establishment

• Head of Non-Government Organization

Non-Apparent Disability Medical Certificate Licensed Private or Government Physician

E. PWD Registration Forms and ID Cards shall be issued and signed by the City or Municipal Mayor, or Barangay Captain. The City or Municipal Mayor, or Barangay Captain shall:

1. Use the NSCB Philippine Standard Geographic Code and sequential numbering system in the issuance of the PWD ID Number. Format is <> where:

RR = 2-digits Region Code
PP = 2-digits Province Code
MM = 2-digits Municipality Code
BBB = 3-digits Barangay Code
NNN = 3-digits Sequential No.

Examples:

Issuing Facility NSCB Philippine Standard Geographic Code PWD ID No.
City of San Fernando, Pampanga 13-5416-000 13-5416-000-001

Municipality of Apalit, Pampanga 03-5402-000 03-5402-000-001

Sucad Barangay, Apalit, Pampanga 03-5402-013 03-5402-013-001


2. Ensure that the PWD ID No. is sequentially assigned or distributed to each PWDs.

3. Keep a record of all PWDs with ID Numbers issued and with the following data sets:

1. ID Number
2. Name of the PWD (Last Name, First Name, Middle Name)
3. Complete Address
4. Date of Birth

F. The DOH shall maintain the system and database of the DOH-PPWDRS in coordination with the NCDA, DSWD, DILG and LGUs. The official website is www.doh.gov.ph/pwd_registry.


V. IMPLEMENTING GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES

Any bonafide person with permanent disability can apply for the issuance of the PWD-IDC. His/her caregiver can assist in the application process. Procedures for the issuance of the ID Cards are as follows:


A. Completion of the Requirements. Complete and/or make available the following requirements:

1. Two “1x1” recent ID pictures with the names, and signatures or thumb marks at the back of the picture.
2. One (1) Valid ID
3. Document to confirm the medical or disability condition (See Section IV, D for the required document).

B. Obtaining and Filling up of the PWD Registration Form. Obtain and fill up the PWD-RF using any of the following means:

1. Accomplishing the PWD-RF manually:
a. Obtain the form from any of the PWD Registration Centers.
b. Fill up accurately and completely the form.
c. Affix one (1) ID picture on the accomplished form, and staple the other ID picture with the PWD-RF.
d. Attach copy of the document to confirm the medical or disability condition with the PWD-RF.

2. Accomplishing the PWD-RF using the Online Registration System:
a. Log in to the DOH-PPWDRS and access the online registration.
b. Enter accurately and completely the required PWD registration data.
c. Print the accomplished form.
d. Affix one (1) ID picture on the accomplished form, and staple the other ID picture with the PWD-RF.
e. Attach copy of the document to confirm the medical or disability condition with the PWD-RF.

C. Submission of the Accomplished PWD-RF and Issuance of the PWD-IDC. Submit to the City or Municipal Mayor, or Barangay Captain the accomplished PWD-RF with the attached requirements. The City or Municipal Mayor, or Barangay Captain shall:

1. Check and/or verify the data and document to confirm the disability or medical condition of the applicant.
2. Assign a PWD ID Number (See Section IV, E) and affix on the PWD-RF.
3. Fill up the data required on the ID Card.
4. Issue the ID Card to the PWD.
5. Submit the Accomplished PWD-RF and attached requirements and/or documents to the City or Municipal Social Welfare Development Office for data encoding into the DOH-PPWDRS.

VI. VALIDITY AND RENEWAL OF THE PIC

1. The PIC issued to the PWD shall be valid for three (3) years.
2. The initial PIC is free of charge.
3. Renewal due to expiration, loss or damage shall be charged a minimal fee for the new PIC.

VII. USE OF THE PIC

The PIC shall serve as the Standard National Identification Card for PWDs, and shall be prescribed as proof of availment of the 20% discount and other benefits to persons with disabilities as provided in RA 9442. (See Annex B for the facsimile of the PIC).

VIII. PENALTY CLAUSE

Abuse by any person, corporation, institution and/or entity on the use of the PIC is punishable by law or can be penalized subject to the discretion of the ruling court.

IX. ANNEX 1 – PROCESS FLOW

Approved by:
HON. ROSIE LOVELY T. ROMULO
Chairperson
April 23, 2008
Quezon City

Basic Sign Language

Primary colors in Sign Language

RED

Yellow

Blue

Counting 1-5 in Sign Language

Counting 6-10 in Sign Language

Counting in 10s

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100, 500, 1000 in Sign Language

100

500

1000

Deaf Student Maltreated, Seriously Injured Over Fare Discount

JOHN EZRA CABALO, DEAF STUDENT OF DLS-CSB SDEAS, DIDN'T GO TO SCHOOL FOR DAYS AND FAILED TO FILE AN EXCUSE SLIP FOR HIS ABSENCE. Ezra was about to be declared AWOL when the school received a long letter from his distraught mother detailing the circumstance behind his prolonged leave. He broke a leg in an accident and the attending physician advised him to refrain from walking and lifting heavy objects for the next four weeks.

On the evening of January 28, Ezra fell down from the air-conditioned Green Star bus he was riding to the streets when the bus suddenly sped off just as he was alighting at a designated stop in Susana Heights, Muntinlupa City. Nobody helped him. Prior to the accident, the bus conductor refused to give Ezra the fare discount accorded to him by law (Republic Act 9442 Privileges and Incentives for Disabled Persons). He was instead charged the full fare and after realizing that Ezra could not hear, the conductor and the driver loudly made fun of him for the rest of the journey.

Despite the pain from his injured leg, Ezra managed to get to the market stall where his parents earn their keep as vendors. His family brought him to the Ospital ng Muntinlupa where he was diagnosed with a strained ligament on his right knee. From the hospital, they proceeded to file a formal complaint with the police that same evening. Ezra and his family went back to the hospital for X-ray and the attending physician told them that the X-ray results showed that Ezra sustained a fractured leg bone. Ezra was told not to carry heavy objects so the injured bone would heal faster. Ezra and his relatives proceeded to the National Orthopedic Center in Quezon City for a second opinion. The attending doctor at the Center found a crack instead on Ezra’s leg and expressed dismay that the physician at the previous hospital did not bother to put the injured leg in a cast, as is usually done with broken bones.

Ezra is on his way to recovery. Initially, he was advised that he can only move around on a wheelchair. Though tough on the family’s finances, they hired a van at Php 250/one-way trip to bring Ezra to school. Ezra is very eager not to miss classes since excess absences could affect his standing as a 100% scholar at DLS-CSB SDEAS. Strong-willed and determined to keep his scholarship, Ezra now limps his way from class to class.

The management of the offending bus company has yet to respond to the complaint lodged by Ezra’s family with the police. Ezra was able to write down the bus plate number (DLK-726) but the bus company allegedly denies that the plate number belongs to their bus. Two teachers who befriended Ezra after witnessing the incident with the bus conductor refused to serve as eyewitness to the case.

UPDATE: Upon checking with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) vehicle registration verification facility via text messaging (TXT 2600 for all networks), plate number DLK-726 is not a registered vehicle.

DEAF-FRIENDLY TERMS

Whats in a name?

NOT ACCEPTABLE :
Deaf and Dumb
Deaf Mute
Pipi
Hearing Impaired

ACCEPTABLE:
deaf
Hard of Hearing
Deaf