YESTERDAY was International Day of Sign Languages. It was set by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness of the issues deaf people face in their everyday lives and to close existing gaps in the achievement of human rights for deaf people. In this country on Sept. 10, 2018 both Houses of Congress passed the Filipino Sign Language Act.
We must celebrate not only the Filipino Sign Language but the whole deaf community for their commitment and courage to stand and fight for their rights and hold accountable those who try to ridicule and vilify them.
The Filipino Sign Language Act seeks to realize the rights of the Filipino deaf to full and equal participation in society by enabling the acquisition of life and social development skills through the use of Filipino Sign Language as the language of instruction, in an environment which respects their identity and distinct capabilities.
It embodies the principles of UN Convention of Persons with Disabilities. It augments the shortcomings in our society and governmental policies, especially as regards education, health, other social services and media which make everyday life difficult for the Filipino deaf community — difficulties not just in mobility but also access to basic social services like education and health and rights to information.
The declaration of the Filipino Sign Language as the national sign language of the Filipino deaf and its establishment as the mode of instruction and mode of communication is the victory of the Filipino deaf community. Their steadfast advocacy has finally culminated into the passage of this measure.
The Filipino deaf has struggled for this bill for more than six years for official recognition of their identity and rights, longer than that. This is why the passage of this measure into law is urgently sought.
We now strongly urge President Duterte to sign the Filipino Sign Language Act into law. We also urge the Duterte administration to hold Presidential Communications Operations Office assistant secretary Mocha Uson and blogger Drew Olivar accountable for vilifying and ridiculing the deaf community. They should not be allowed to get off the hook with what they posted on social media even with their so-called “apology.”
