MANILA –An official of the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) has called on the public to vote for barangay (village) officials who will be genuinely looking over the welfare of the people in the communities, including persons with disabilities (PWDs).
NCDA executive director Carmen Zubiaga said voters should be extra careful in electing village executives this coming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
“We should be careful in electing barangay captains,” she said during an event in Quezon City in line with the observance 11th World Autism Awareneess Day (WAAD) on Monday.
NCDA is an attached agency of Deparment of Social Welfare and Development.
Zubiaga said that the electorate and advocates of PWD sector’s welfare should closely examine also candidates seeking the barangay posts.
She said that since these local officials are within the villages, it is important that they are sensitive to the needs of PWDs.
Zubiaga said that NCDA is batting that the officials in the village will be just appointed, hoping that those appointees who have advocate for the promotion of programs and services to PWDs and their families will be prioritized during their term of office.
She said village executives should also be active in putting up Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) and in conduct of community training that will help families of PWDs.
She noted that Republic Act 10070, or otherwise known as the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, provides the establishment of PDAO in every province, city and municipality.
One function of PDAO is to formulate and implement policies, plans and programs for the promotion of the welfare of the PWDs in coordination with concerned national and local government agencies. (Leilani Junio/PNA)
