BONTOC, Mountain Province – The Bontoc municipal government is the first recipient in the Cordillera region of a complete computer set from the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA).
Mayor Franklin Odsey received the Information Technology (IT) equipment from the NCDA during the Barrier-Free Tourism Seminar on Handling PWDs held on May 20, 2022, at the Samoki Valley Inn, Bontoc, Mountain Province.
The computer set was then turned over to Municipal Disability Affairs Officer Maria Codeo during the regular Monday flag raising ceremony on May 23, 2022.
Regional Programs Coordinator Randy Dela Cruz Calseña of the NCDA mentioned that the computer set will be of great help in the collection and uploading of municipal disability data.
Mayor Odsey expressed his utmost gratitude to the NCDA for the provision of a computer to be utilized by the Office of the Municipal Disability Affairs.
Odsey remarked that the creation of the Municipal Disability Affairs Office (MDAO) in the municipality and the appointment of Maria Codeo as the Municipal Disability Affairs Officer has paved the way for better delivery of services especially in giving the full support to the improve the well-being of the PWDs in the municipality and their integration into the mainstream of the society.
The mayor added that with the presence of an MDAO, this is the first time that the PWDs in all the barangays of Bontoc are being organized and their respective associations are currently being registered with the Department of Labor and Employment.
Likewise, the MDAO is currently gathering the list of the PWDs in Bontoc and is in the process of inputting the names into the Philippine Registry System. Also, the said office is currently preparing the PWD IDs and purchase booklets for all the PWDs in the municipality.
Codeo joined Mayor Odsey in expressing her gratitude to the NCDA, adding that the provision of one complete computer set to the MDAO is timely. She added that organizing the PWDs as a group and inputting their names in the Philippine Registry System will be an opportunity for the PWDs to strengthen and learn to assert their rights as stipulated in the Magna Carta (for Persons with Disabilities) and develop personal capacities.
As of this writing, a total of 806 PWDs in Bontoc have been inputted by the MDAO in the Philippine Registry System.
Also, Codeo enumerated the nine types of disability. These include deaf or hard of hearing, intellectual disability, learning disability, mental disability, orthopedic disability, physical disability, psychosocial disability, speech and language impairment, and visual disability.
By Christy Mae F. Che-es & Alpine Killa- Malwagay