UNA reaches out to the deaf

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—In a campaign that has become heavy on gimmickry and light on earnest platform, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) on Sunday announced here a sensible addition to its coming sorties—sign language interpreters.

“We recognize the need to break the communication barrier. Language plays a notable role in the election, and sign language is a good way [for the hearing impaired] to learn about the candidates and their programs for the people,” said Rep. Toby Tiangco, UNA’s campaign manager.

The coalition was expected to introduce interpreters during its big rally at the Baguio Convention Center last night. Tiangco said the plan was to make them a regular feature of the UNA campaign.

“We will try our best to make the presence of a sign language interpreter a standard component in our rallies,” he said.—Christian V. Esguerra