Over 160 barangay officials in charge of the committee on social services were oriented on laws, programs, and services concerning persons with disability on Wednesday at the City Hall multipurpose Hall.
The orientation was initiated by the PWD Affairs Office (PDAO) under the Office of the City Mayor as a result of evaluations during the past year’s Search of Best Performing Barangays of the city.
PDAO head Samuel Aquino said as per Ordinance 47, s. 2017, the 128 barangays are required to create a PWD desk.
However, Aquino said the ordinance was not fully implemented due to lack of capacity building and orientation among barangay officials.
“The PWDs are the least known group in the barangay that is why they don’t know how to cater to the concerns and needs of our PWD,” Aquino said.
He said through the orientation, the barangay officials will be empowered and guided on how to record the number of PWDs in their barangays to help the PDAO in validating the registry of PWDs in the city.
“We also wish to come up with barangay PWD day and make PWD barangay desks functional, in compliance to different city laws, especially Ordinance 47, s. 2017,” Aquino said.
From 2016 to 2018, there were over 2,000 PWDs registered by the City Social Welfare and Development Office. Nine hundred thirteen more were registered in 2019 when the PDAO was created and transferred under the City Mayor’s Office, according to Aquino.
The barangay officials were also reoriented and updated on national and local laws on PWDs. – Jessa Mardy Samidan
April 27, 2024
