Caloocan City plans benefits for persons with disabilities

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — In a bid to protect and advance the rights and privileges of persons with disabilities, the Caloocan City government revealed plans to create an office that would monitor the sector’s welfare.

In a statement, Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan said the city government has been working on creating the Caloocan City Monitoring and Coordination Board for Persons with Disabilities.

“This will give [the disabled] equal access to social services and to the same opportunities given to all residents of the city,” Malapitan said.

Specifically, the body will monitor whether the sector benefits from the city government’s services, while checking if they also thoroughly enjoy privileges mandated to them by law.

Malapitan also committed to make sure that government offices are accessible to disabled people, and instructed city officials to ensure special express lanes for PWDs in government transactions.

He added that the city government has been studying a proposal to give a 50-percent discount to PWDs on fees for using city-owned facilities.