BY ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
NEXT YEAR’S polls will not only be challenging because of the current health pandemic. It could have a major breakthrough in the country’s “soiled” politics. Or it could be a “taboo no more” for a society having an “odd” perspective in treating persons with mental and physical disabilities.
If luck favors, Congress will have an additional four lawmakers representing a marginal sector of people with “special” needs. And will be the country’s “very special” lawmakers, just in case. This, as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) accredited P3PWD as among the party-list groups duly qualified in the May 9, 2022 elections. It is allowed to have up to four nominees.
P3PWD, a neophyte party-list group, is committed to bring to the Lower House the real voices and concerns of those mentally and physically challenged individuals across the country. Its first nominee is Bacolod native Grace Santibanez-Yeneza.
Grace, per information, is a polio victim but an IT (Information Technology) executive. She’s currently working as a consultant to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Hearing this kind of news (really) bleeds my heart. It excites me – to the maximum level – of course! I want to see persons with disability (PWDs) in Congress arguing or debating with their “normal” fellows, crafting House Resolutions, among others. Quite unique and a sort of breaking the norms in Philippine politics!
The population of mentally and physically challenged Filipinos is getting bigger and bigger every year. Based on the 2010 Census of Population and Housing, of the 92.1 million household population, 1.4 million or 1.57 percent had disability. Thus, they need now a rightful representation in government.
TOUCHING
But what touches my hearth about this story was the presence of Khalil Ibrahim at Sofitel Hotel in Manila during the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) last week.
Khalil, 16, was chosen to be the foster boy of P3PWD. He was diagnosed with Down Syndrome (DS), has epilepsy and is legally blind. He’s the youngest in a brood of four.
Khalil’s mom, Maridi Fullon, is a Kabankalan native in Negros Occidental. She is currently a vocal advocate for P3PWD.
Through the facilitation of my friend, Jopet Millan (president of Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative), I was privileged to interview Maridi via mobile phone direct from Manila.
She discloses that, for now, P3PWD has these top agenda:
(1) Health Care Support System (HCSS) to all PWDs both on hospital and medical expenses.
(2) The establishment of a government-run School for Special Kids (SSK) and free special education not just for PWDs alone, but for their caregivers, too.
(3) Institutionalization of job opportunities for PWDs both in public and private entities by maximizing their individual capabilities.
With these, she says, “I trust Grace. She can bring them up in Congress.”
Grace, adds Maridi, is a woman with intact integrity.
“We believe in her capacity to bring to Congress the voice of her fellow PWDs.”
Maridi admits though that campaigning for P3PWD entails a lot of challenges.
“And these are not ordinary challenges to hurdle or to navigate,” stresses her, adding that, “PWD per se is a touchy subject.”
SHAME, STIGMA, ACCEPTANCE
But to make P3PWD win, underscores Maridi, they need to combat shame and stigma of having PWD kin.
Acceptance, she explains, is really hard, especially for parents having kids with special needs.
I do agree! My son, Sab, was also diagnosed with DS minutes after he was born in a private hospital in Bacolod 11 years ago. It took months for my wife to finally accept that Sab is “special”.
Sab’s medical condition, however, pushed me to become a voracious reader. I read a lot of magazines and books and even online articles related to kids with special needs.
Thus, one time, I read an article from Smart Parenting magazine and it says acceptance is one of the “best medicines” for special kids. If parents know how to accept their special kids, then the community follows suit.
Acceptance, adds an article, will help special kids attain the “near normal” status.
FUND LACK
Maridi also admits that choosing Khalil to be a foster boy for P3PWD is another challenge to hurdle. It’s a major role for Khalil to play, she notes.
Nonetheless, she vows not just to be active, but to be relevant as well during the six-month campaign period.
Candidly, P3PWD, Maridi confides, faces fund lack. But they’re determined to push it.
“We need strong support from the public,” she appeals.
They need at least one million votes to secure four seats in Congress. Or, the least, 250,000 votes for Grace to win (being the first nominee). “So, most probably, everything (during campaign) will be in a voluntary scheme.”
Hyping their campaign, she adds, will be done through social media (socmed).
MILESTONE
Meanwhile, accrediting P3PWD as a party-list group was, indeed, a milestone in PH politics.
Thanks to Comelec, especially to Negrense Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, for the recognition and support to P3PWD.
Thank you, too, for believing that special persons nowadays have really special prowess to showcase even in the Hall of Congress.
Making P3PWD win will surely lead to breaking the norm that PH politics is just for normal and wealthy people. Everything changes. So is politics. With the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that everybody now is equal. Having PWDs at Congress sooner or later is a manifestation that even in politics change is coming.
Aside from Grace, I also wish to see Negrense Brina Kei Maxino in Congress. Brina, also diagnosed with DS, is now a professional teacher and regarded as a global champion of inclusive education by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Though she has speech defects, Brina can deliver real messages from the heart still. And I know Congress will surely listen to her, too.
PROVIDENTIAL
In sum, having P3PWD joining the 2022 elections is quite providential.
Before, most of the mentally and physically challenged individuals were only kept either on the basement or other secluded areas in the house. Parents who have kids with special needs like those with DS, Autism Spectrum (AS), etcetera refuse or ashamed to reveal the truth. For them, it’s somehow like a curse.
Such a taboo, however, is being “buried” now through advanced medical and therapeutic interventions in this digital age. Nowadays, a lot of kids with special needs notably excel in their chosen field of concentration.
Even the entire world takes a bow now to some of the famous individuals, who are mentally and physically challenged, but continue to make their niches in the field of arts, business, fashion, etc. To name the few:
With DS (Down Syndrome)
* Madeline Stuart – Australian professional model
* Sujeet Desai – great musician and concert performer who can play seven instruments
* Zack Gottsagen – film actor
* Isabella Sprinmuhl Tejada – fashion designer
With (AS) Autism Spectrum
* Albert Einstein – scientist
* Emily Dickinson – poet
* Tim Burton – movie director
* Paul Dirac- physicist
Here in the country, may the 2022 elections lead to the discovery of people with special needs to be country‘s first batch of “special lawmakers”.
And who knows? They might be “Godsend” to have a noble mission – end the horrible corruption in the Philippines.
I do hope so!/PN
