BULUAN, Maguindanao – Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu on Friday hailed the contributions of persons with disabilities (PWDs), as he vowed for more opportunities to help the sector.
Speaking during the culmination of the July 19-20 PWD Summit held at the provincial gymnasium here, Mangudadatu enumerated the provincial government’s programs, specifically those intended for PWDs from Maguindanao’s 36 municipalities.
These programs, he said, aim to boost the PWDs’ productivity despite their physical challenges.
The summit was capped with dialogues in all PWD-friendly projects and the distribution of wheelchairs, walkers and other mobility support to some 200 participants coming from the province’s 36 municipalities.
Mangudadatu governor and Provincial Board members also rolled out programs that the PWDs can avail of, among them livelihood assistance to make them productive citizens.
“There are things that you can do that other able-bodied individuals cannot,” Mangudadatu said to the applause of more than 200 PWDs present at the venue.
One of the guest speakers, Miguel Antonio Limon, the National Council on Disability Affairs regional program coordinator, lauded Mangudadatu for his programs, especially those intended for PWDs, describing them as unprecedented.
Limon acknowledged Mangudadatu’s efforts in serving his PWD constituents through socio-economic and other humanitarian interventions, noting that the governor’s initiative should be emulated by other local officials in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“They need love, they need support like anyone else, and the provincial government will not cease helping them so they become more productive,” Mangudadatu said. (Noel Punzalan and Edwin Fernandez/PNA)
