LAOAG CITY — Although Ilocos Norte is the only province in the Ilocos region that has failed to comply with the law on the creation of a provincial Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO), the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office here continues to provide assistance to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
As a way of promoting inclusive growth, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Lilian Rin said Monday they facilitated the election of officers of PWD associations here, as part of the culminating activity of the National Disability Prevention Week.
After taking his oath as newly-elected PWD Federated president of Ilocos Norte, Aaron Ramos lauded the provincial government of Ilocos Norte, also on Monday, for being supportive of the welfare of PWDs like him.
“Since we are organized, it really helped us with our needs. We can say that a lot of us are empowered without thinking too much about our disability and make ourselves useful to the community,” he said, noting that the PWD organization is also a means to “uplift the morale of fellow PWDs.”
Ramos said the various programs and activities offered to PWDs in the province enable them to mingle with ordinary individuals.
Rin said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) wants PWDs to see themselves and be seen by other people as normal persons who can contribute to the betterment of the country.
The implementing rules of Republic Act No. 10070 (An Act Establishing an Institutional Mechanism to Ensure the Implementation of Programs and Services for Persons with Disabilities in Every Province, City or Municipality, Amending Republic Act No. 7277 Otherwise Known as the “Magna Carta for Disabled Persons), enacted in 2010, mandates the creation of PDAOs and the designation of PWD Affairs Offices or focal persons in a local government unit.
Even without a PDAO, the province has been funding and implementing PWD-initiated projects and programs, such as various skills and competencies training that enable PWDs to become productive and independent.
Based on data from the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction of the DSWD, there are more than 2,000 registered PWDs in Ilocos Norte.
This is out of the 593,081 total population of the province based on the 2015 census. (Leilanie Adriano/PNA)
