Senatorial aspirant and former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo (FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — On the fifth death anniversary of his son, senatorial aspirant and former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo vowed to push for measures mandating the government to build facilities for children with special needs or disabilities.
In a Facebook post, Panelo remembered his son Carlo who died in his sleep on January 6, 2017. Carlo had Down syndrome.
“Whether or not I am elected in the Senate, I vow to push for legislation that would mandate the government to build facilities where children with special needs or disabilities like Carlo can be taken cared of if their parents or guardians pass away ahead of them, or are incapable of providing them with the great care and attention they need,” Panelo said.
Panelo recalled that one of the worries he and his wife had, back when Carlo was still alive, was thinking of who would take care of their son once they pass away.
“Despite our difficulties in taking care of him, we loved him dearly, and miss him every day… His untimely passing, however, strangely solved a nagging problem that haunted my wife Celi and I as we grew older: Who is going to take care of Carlo if we passed away ahead of him?” Panelo said.
“Carlo could not take care of himself, and we thought it would be unfair to burden our other children with his care,” he added.
Citing data from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) Panelo said that 5.1 million Filipino children are living with disabilities, including those with Down Syndrome.
“This means that there are millions of Filipino parents that have the same problem Celi and I had,” Panelo said.