Being one of the signatories of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the Philippine government is responsible for addressing the needs of the Deaf and for providing equality and accessibility for them. However, the current laws in the country do not include the provision of sign language insets for news programs and the hiring of interpreters for the persons with disabilities which further disables the Deaf community.
To address this problem, the Deaf community is currently supporting the two House Bills that were proposed and submitted to the House of Congress by Bayan Muna Partylist Representative Congressman Teodoro Casiño, the House Bill 4121 or the Sign-language insets for News Programs Act of 2011 and the House Bill 4631 or the Court Interpreters for Persons with Disabilities Act.
Below is the further elaboration of the two House Bills being proposed.
HOUSE BILL No. 4121
Sign-language insets for News Programs Act of 2011.
Section 22 of Republic Act No. 7277, or the “Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities,” as amended by Republic Act No. 9442, is hereby amended to read as follows:
“Sec. 22 Broadcast Media – ALL LOCAL television stations shall be REQUIRED to provide a sign-language inset, AND IF POSSIBLE, subtitles in at least TWO (2) newscast programs a day and special programs covering events of national significance.”
Without subtitles or sign language on TV, the Deaf are deprived of timely and relevant information that broadcast news provides.
Through this proposed bill, the broadcast media will be more accessible to the Deaf. It may also pave the way for more captioned or sign-language interpreted programs in the future.
It should also be considered that less than 5% of the reported 120,000 Deaf persons are literate or have received any form of schooling according to the Philippine Deaf Resource Center. This is why Filipino sign language is preferred over captions.
HOUSE BILL No. 4631
Court Interpreters for Persons with Disabilities Act.
“SECTION 4. Hiring of interpreters. – All courts, quasi-judicial bodies, agencies and government institutions conducting investigations and public hearings shall hire interpreters for proceedings involving individuals ascertained to be deaf through accepted clinical standards and procedures. However, a deaf individual may waive the right to an interpreter. The concerned body that hired the services of the interpreter shall provide the budget for the prompt payment of interpreters which shall be on a per appearance basis, including travel, board/lodging as well as other expenses before the case is filed in court.”
There is a need of interpreters for the Deaf during investigative and judicial proceedings. Unfortunately, the current system does not have a clear procedure for such resulting to delay in proceedings and the Deaf having to pay and find a suitable interpreter.
The proposed bill addresses all of these problems. It is the responsibility of the State to provide interpreters during any government proceeding, be it for police investigations, court, or public hearings. Hired interpreters are also entitled to sufficient payment and rest.
An online petition to push these House Bills is currently on going and everyone is asked and invited to sign the petition in support to the Deaf community. Please also feel free to pass on the message to your Deaf, Hearing, Filipino and non-Filipino friends.
Sign the Petition here: http://housebills4deaf.webs.
edited by: Marina Viktoria De Los Reyes
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