A major difference between countries is the way in which each government and its people view and treat disability. Religious, medical and personal beliefs all affect how a person views disabilities and what causes them. A family’s amount of support, or lack thereof, can have a significant impact on a child with a disability and the way that the community views that child. In addition, the federal mandates for special education services and the rights of persons with disabilities vary from country to country.
The Republic of the Philippines (the Philippines), is a country in Southeast Asia, located in the Pacific Ocean. The Philippines is home to an estimated 94 million people, making it one of the world’s most populous countries (AusAID, n.d). Filipinos or Pinoy, people from the Philippines, are very diverse; among them 150 different languages and dialects are spoken (Shapiro, 2). Tagalog, Filipino and English are the most widely spoken languages in the Philippines with Filipino and English as its official languages (2). Catholicism is the primary religion in the Philippines with an eighty-three percent following. Other practiced religions include Protestant, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism and Chinese folk religion (Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association, n.d.).
While in the United States it is common for families of children with disabilities to seek help from medical professionals at either a medical practice or hospital, in the Philippines many people seek help from folk healers, called “manghihilot”, and faith healers (Shapiro, 2). The folk healers often use herbs, massage, oils and prayers to treat various ailments. Faith healers are said to perform “mystic surgeries” and “healings” using only their bare hands (2). Many Filipinos like faith healers because they believe that faith healers are much more compassionate than western-trained medical doctors (2).
There is a stigma surrounding severe disabilities in the Philippines (Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association, n.d.). People may use naturalistic explanations for certain disabilities, blaming the mother for failing to follow prescribed dietary practices during pregnancy. They go so far as to place blame on the mother if her baby’s skin is fair because she drank too much milk during her pregnancy (Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association, n.d.). These explanations can be embarrassing to the family and cause shame and dishonor. Sometimes, supernatural explanations place blame on spirits or ancestors.
Many Filipinos believe that babies who constantly cry and are irritable are troubled by evil spirits. Some may seek to explain such conditions as epilepsy and autism by saying that the person with the condition is 'possessed' by angry or evil spirits (Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association, n.d.). Others may view a child’s disability as a “divine punishment” for sins committed by parents or ancestors or a family’s moral transgressions against God (Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association, n.d.). These spiritual beliefs contribute to a sense of shame that surrounds the entire family of a disabled child (Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association, n.d.).
While the families of children with disabilities may be plagued with shame and dishonor, this stigma does not affect how the family treats the disabled child. Children with disabilities in the Philippines usually receive a lot of love and support from their families who view the child in a positive light. Many times, Filipino families will turn to their faith and religion for hope and strength after learning that a child in their family has a disability (Shapiro, 3). Families tend to believe that the most miniscule improvement is a miracle or gift from God (3). Family is very important to Filipinos, so when a family member is diagnosed with a disability the entire family tends to help in any way they can, feeling a sense of obligation to that family member (Shapiro, n.d). More often than not, relatives, distant or not, have positive attitudes towards the child with a disability and display deep concern and sympathy towards the family (3).
While many Filipino families see disability as a punishment, others see children with mental handicaps as “bringers of luck” especially when it comes to family businesses (Shapiro, 3). Some family members, however, believe that having a disabled family member is a punishment from evil spirits (3). Whichever school of thought a Filipino has, the obligation to their family is still the same. Families generally love the disabled member of their family unconditionally and make sacrifices for them such as their time, their careers, and sometimes even love or marriage, in order to take care of a relative (3). It is also uncommon for a disabled Filipino to live apart from his or her family and be fully financially responsible; rather, he or she will be taught to be a contributing member of the family (3).
While there are many explanations from Filipinos for why children are born disabled, from a western point of view, economic conditions seem to play a large role. Poverty in the Philippines is a growing problem, twenty-six percent of the total population lives below the poverty line (AusAID, n.d.). Factors associated with poverty such as lack of healthcare, poor nutrition, especially prenatal nutrition, and poor living conditions, all increase a Filipino woman’s chances of having a child born with a disability.
According to the Republic of the Philippines Department of Education (2012), the goal of basic education is to “provide the school age population and young adults with skills, knowledge, and values to become caring, self-reliant, productive and patriotic citizens” (Department of Education of the Philippines, 2012). The Department of Education in the Philippines implemented Special Education as early as the 1960’s and special education has expanded greatly since then (Rosanna, 119). The Department of Education presently believes that “the ultimate goal of special education shall be the integration or mainstreaming of learners with special needs into the regular school system and eventually in the community” (Department of Education of the Philippines, 2012).
Based on the 2000 Department of Education report, 12% of the children population, or 5,196,377 children, in the country had special needs, 2% were gifted while 10% are those children had disabilities (Rosanna, 120). Of the 5,196,377 children with special needs, 136,523 or 2.6% received appropriate educational services for school year 2002-2003, leaving 97.4% of children with special needs without appropriate services (120). Many factors affect whether a disabled Filipino child receives appropriate special education services. One reason why children may not be served is because of the stigma placed on the disabled and their families. The feeling of embarrassment and dishonor leads many parents to hide their children from mainstream society; including school environments where they could receive help. Other parents live in poverty and have to make a decision as to which of their children to send to school. Priority is given to the non-disabled children; the children with disabilities are usually left at home (Department of Education of the Philippines, 2012).
Currently, there are 43267 public schools in the Philippines. There are 2105 schools equipped with special education programs throughout the Philippines. Of the 2105, there are four national special schools, 450 private special schools, 147 recognized special education centers and 1504 regular schools with special education programs (Rosanna, 120). The different types of disabilities addressed in these schools include “learning disability, hearing impairment, visual impairment, mental retardation, behavioral problem, orthopedically handicapped or health problems, autism, speech defect, chronically ill and cerebral palsy” (Department of Education of the Philippines, 2012). The largest population of special education students are either learning disabled or visually impaired.
One of the four National Special Schools is the Philippine School for the Deaf accepts children with multiple disabilities, such as a student who is both deaf and has autism. The school is well equipped to teach deaf students, however, there are major concerns with their educational program to support multi-disabled children. Concerns include but are not limited to the lack of accessible culture-based assessment tools to evaluate students with multiple disabilities and the fast turn-over of qualified teachers and school staff (Rossana, 120).
The Republic of the Philippines Department of Education has implemented several instructional programs that are utilized in the United States. The programs include self-contained classrooms, traveling teachers that reach out to children with special needs in other schools or at home, resource room, pull-out services, mainstreaming and inclusion.
The Filipino government acknowledges and tries to protect persons with disabilities in the country. The Filipino Constitution recognizes the population of persons with disabilities has five provisions that clearly refer to Filipinos with disabilities (Purcil, 11). Section 13 of Article 13 authorized the creation of a specific agency and a group of policies for the disabled sector of the population (11). The Bill of Rights also acknowledges that all human rights instruments approved by the country benefit persons with disabilities (11). The Constitutional provisions forbid discrimination on the bases of belief, gender, and physical conditions (11). Unless a clear limitation is declared, the rights set forth in the Constitution apply to all Filipinos, with or without disabilities (11). Merely fifty-seven complaints have been filed with the Commission on Human Rights dealing with disability related cases (11).
Unfortunately some barriers are still in place that make it hard for the disabled to feel fully equal. The Civil and Family Codes, for example, contribute to some persons with disabilities being labeled as “Legally Incompetent” by identifying certain disabilities as making a person unable to independently manage himself or his properties and relations (Purcil, 12). When a person is labeled “Legally Incompetent” it takes a substantial amount of effort to achieve equality before the law (12). The U.P. I.H.R. Policy Review 2007 stated that:
Despite efforts to equalize opportunities and improve their lot, persons with disabilities in the country continue to suffer exclusion from social and economic opportunities due to systematic barriers to their participation, such as their exclusion from decision-making process, negative attitudes about disability that perpetuate marginalization and discriminatory legislative framework that have not only excluded the disabled but have also contributed to the creation of barriers to their participation”(12).
For those Filipino’s with physical disabilities that impair their mobility, access features are only required for buildings built after it was put into effect in 1983. It can be seen, however, that many government buildings have not followed this rule, neglecting to have access for the physically disabled.
The Magna Carta for Disabled Persons of 1992 is the chief national policy document for persons with disabilities in the Philippines. The Magna Carta was recently considerably modifed by the Republic Act 9442 of 2006 which incorporated additional social, economic and human rights provisions (Purcil, 13). RA9442 enforced generous discounts on transportation fares, medicines and other basic daily essentials. The act also strictly forbids and penalizes any act that results in the vilification of persons with disabilities (13).
The Declaration of Policies of the Republic of the Philippines states that:
“Disabled persons are part of the Philippine society, thus the State shall give full support to the improvement of the total well being of disabled persons and their integration into the mainstream of society. Toward this end, the State shall adopt policies ensuring the rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance of disabled persons” (Purcil, 13).
The declaration also states that the rights of the disabled should never been looked at as being welfare services from the government. It also states that the state should be an advocate for persons with disabilities and encourage respect for all people (14).
The Republic of the Philippines recognizes the need for special education services and has mandated many programs similar to those you would find in the United States. The majority of the children who would benefit from these services, however, either do not have access to them, or are unable take advantage of them due to shame or poverty. The Philippines has made many strides toward their goal of providing for the needs of the disabled members of its society, but still has a long way to go to truly serve them. The Filipino Constitution protects all disabled individuals and encourages respect for all people; however, there is a long history of stigma surrounding disability that may never go away.
References
Ethnic Communities &Â Disability - Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association -. (n.d.). Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association. Retrieved February 8, 2012, from http://www.mdaa.org.au/publications/ethnicity/filipino/general.html
Historical Perspective of the Philippine Educational System. (n.d.). Department of Education of the Philippines - DepEd. Retrieved February 8, 2012, from http://www.deped.gov.ph/about_deped/history.asp
Philippines Country Profile. (n.d.). AusAID: The Australian Government's overseas aid
program. Retrieved February 8, 2012, from http://www.ausaid.gov.au/country/philippines/default.cfm?CFID=3625736&CFTOKEN=48047890
Purcil, L. (2009). Monitoring the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Laws, Policies and Programs in the Philippines. Disability Rights Promotion International, 1, 11-15.
Rosanna, M. (n.d.). EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH MULTIPLE DISABILITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES. National Institute of Special Needs Education. Retrieved February 6, 2012, from www.nise.go.jp/cms/resources/content/382/18d-228_18.pdf
Shapiro, M. (n.d.). A collaborative project between NTAC-AAPI and the center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange (CIRRIE) at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Asian Culture Brief: Philiippines, 2(3). Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://www.ntac.hawaii.edu/downloads/products/briefs/culture/pdf/ACB-Vol2-Iss3-Philippines.pdf
