PAGADIAN CITY, Sept 15 (PIA) - The provincial government has named the town of Dumingag as the winner of their provincewide Search for the Most Person With Disability (PWD)-Friendly Local Government Unit (LGU) this year 2022.
Recognized as an LGU that follows disability laws, Dumingag bested 26 LGUs in the province after the final screening conducted by the provincial evaluation team for the much-coveted award.
Dumingag won first place with a P30,000 prize; Vincenzo Sagun is second place with P20,000; and Pitogo is third place with P10,000 prize. They also received certificates of recognition. Meanwhile, special awards were also given to other LGUs that implemented the Accessibility Law or Batas Pambansa 344.
Dumingag met almost all the criteria prepared by the evaluation team.
It was learned that the local government allocated a P1.9-M budget in the year 2022 for use by the PDAO, created an ordinance to establish the PDAO office, established a sheltered workshop, regularly supports the celebration of the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) week.
In addition, it also has a vehicle available for PWDs to visit the barangays, employs 16 PWD staff, has a ramp, and the documents presented are complete.
In the awarding ceremony during the LGU and Barangay Night held at the Mega gym, Vice Governor Roseller Ariosa thanked the active participation of the LGUs in the contest that was held for the first time in the province to give recognition to the LGUs that showed great concern for the rights of PWDs.
Ariosa added that the 14th Council of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, which also actively supports the rights of PWDs by institutionalizing PDAO and approved the provincial ordinance to establish 'sheltered employment' for PWDs .
Meanwhile, Joniro Fradejas, the executive director of the National Council on Disability Affairs Office (NCDA) also distributed 27 sets of computers to the LGUs so that they can be used by the PDAO office to encode disability data in their respective municipalities.
Fradejas added that it is necessary to update the disability data in all municipalities so that the NCDA will know the total number of PWDs in the country and also to comply with Republic Act 11228 that mandates PhilHealth coverage for all PWDs.
The awarding ceremony is part of the 70th Founding Anniversary of Zamboanga del Sur. (RVC/EDT/GCC/PIA- Zamboanga del Sur).
