NOVEMBER is National Children’s Month in the Philippines. Nov. 20, on the other hand, is marked as World Children’s Day by the United Nations. This is an opportune time to call on Congress to resume the stalled bicameral deliberations on the “Instituting Services for Learners with Disabilities in Support of Inclusive Education Bill”, more popularly known as the “Inclusive Education” Bill, that has remained pending before the bicam since June this year.
The Inclusive Education Bill institutes a wide plethora of services for learners with disabilities and establishes inclusive learning resource centers in all school districts in the country. When passed into law, the bill can significantly address the limited access to public education of the majority of around five million learners with disabilities as reported by PhilHealth in 2018. The pending bill addresses striking factors that lead to the exclusion of learners with disabilities from education, including the lack of a disability-friendly learning environment in most schools, lack of proper materials and facilities, and even the discrimination that learners with disabilities experience while in school.
The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill, House Bill 8080, on third reading, last Dec. 7, 2020 yet. Meanwhile, the Senate passed Senate Bill 1907, its counterpart version, on May 31, 2021.
The bicam has begun its deliberations to reconcile the disagreeing provisions of the two versions in June. However, it has yet to conclude its deliberations six months after, rendering the bill hanging in the legislative limbo indefinitely.
We appeal to the bicam: take time to finally conclude the deliberations on the Inclusive Education Bill. Expediting the passage of this can and will be seen as a bold move that will prove that despite everything that is happening in the political arena, our legislators still have the future of learners with disabilities in mind.
We know that the election frenzy, coupled with the deliberations on the 2022 national budget, is taking up the bulk of Congress’ time and attention. Yet we must note that the Inclusive Education Bill is only a few steps behind into becoming a law. Our legislators must not lose this momentum. Learners with disabilities and their families are waiting while enduring discrimination in the absence of this policy.
Can the bill be passed this November – which is celebrated as National Children’s Month? The answer is an unequivocal yes. It would only take a few hours for the bicam to reconvene, and resolutely pass this important piece of legislation. All it takes is resolute political will.
Apart from taking a holistic approach towards aiding learners with disabilities, the pending bill addresses the difficulties faced by this vulnerable sector that have been magnified by the pandemic, including the lack of access to education services, and child development centers or supervised neighborhood programs. It also seeks to provide teachers with ample training on inclusive education, and the creation of accessible instructional and learner materials that would address the learning difficulties experienced by learners with disabilities.
There are time constraints, we know, but this bill deserves all the attention it needs. Do it for our learners with disabilities – they deserve all the precious legislative hours Congress can muster.
