They are currently working on a project called 'IPAD' - Information and Police Access for the Deaf.
Here's an extract from - http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2013/11/16/1257320/pro-7-set-pilot-test-pwd-friendly-program?&wgzt=yes
"CEBU, Philippines - The Police Regional Office-7 and the Gualandi Volunteer Service Programme Philippines have signed a memorandum of agreement to pilot test a program for the benefit of Persons with Disabilities, particularly the deaf.
The MOA created the Information and Police Access for the Deaf (IPAD) program that aims to improve the investigation, monitoring and documentation of cases involving deaf victims. The IPAD will be under the Philippine National Police’s Women and Children’s Desk and will be piloted at Cebu City Police Station 6 in Barangay Pasil, Cebu City.
“WCPD of the PS6 will be the first to be trained how to handle deaf victims as it is the center station in the entire Cebu City,” said PRO-7 public information officer Supt. Renato Dugan.
Police officers will be trained by the GVSP on basic Filipino Sign Language and deaf culture sensitivity, courtesy to PWDs, and working with sign language interpre-ters to allow smooth communication between the deaf and hearing individuals.
Police will also network and coordinate with other agencies to conduct effective investigation and referrals when necessary.
The initiative is part of the GVSP’s Break the Silence Project which raises awareness on the rights of the deaf. The project is supported by the Australian Government through the Philippines-Australian Community Assistance Program.
PACAP provides small grants assistance to poor communities throughout the Philippines. Since it started in 1986, PACAP has awarded more than 2,200 grants to 1,320 civil society organizations benefitting more than 1.4 million poor Filipinos.
The Break the Silence Project aims to assist local government partners to deal more effectively with sexual abuse cases involving deaf persons.
It will also develop a national framework focused on the prevention of Deaf Child Sex Abuse and provide emergency support to abuse victims by providing access to deaf para-counsellors and court interpreters.
“Anyone nga deaf unya i-abuse sila regardless of age and sex pwede i-accommodate,” Dugan said. –BRP (FREEMAN)"
(I don't know what happened in the last line- it's in the article too!)
This programme started in 2012 and it's still going on. The programme's aim is give the Deaf access to information and the police. It also involves teaching Filipino Sign Language to the police officers. This session turned into a very heated debate between mainly the UK volunteers and one of the police officers, I'll call her Brenda (can't remember her actual name). She also had some help from another woman, not sure if she's a police officer also.
The GVSP provide interpreters (volunteers and 'qualified' in their eyes) to PRO7 two hours per day, incase of any Deaf persons walking in. I asked what would happen if a Deaf person walked in and there was no interpreter there? Brenda's response was 'we ask them to wait until the interpreter arrives'. This made me very angry as this meant that Deaf people are not getting the same treatment as hearing people. I questioned Brenda again 'what if a Deaf person walked in, and is in a very emotional state? S/he is expected to wait until an interpreter arrives?! Does any of the police officer here knows any basic sign language, such as 'how can I help you? Are you okay?' Why should a Deaf person wait longer than anyone else, just because you don't have an interpreter 24/7?"
A lot of the UK volunteers questioned Brenda, and she sometimes tries to get away from the question and answers it differently. We then asked if she thinks a Deaf person can become a police officer, she said 'yes' but by law, a Deaf person can not become a police officer because s/he is 'physically unfit'.
Someone told Brenda that there are some Deaf police officers in the UK, patrolling the streets or working inside the office. She seemed a bit shocked about it and asked us to speak to the government about it and make them realise that Deaf people can do anything.
Brenda seemed positive about the Deaf community but there was something lies behind her, she doesn't seem very passionate. She did say that she can't fight for the Deaf community to the government as she can't be political and is a police officer herself, enforcing the laws.
The main reason why we, the UK volunteers, were very, erm, a bit angry was because we know the rights for the Deaf, we know the equality we have and how badly the equality lacks in the Philippines.
Jennylyn told Brenda that she went to her local police station to inform them that someone stabbed her father, and the police officers laughed at her and told her to fetch her mother because she is Deaf and can not communicate with the police officers. 'Where's my justice?' She asked Brenda. Brenda asked where she lives etc. but I don't think she can do anything about it. But she never said anything else afterwards.
We all recommended to Brenda to have Deaf people working in the IPAD project, because the Deaf knows what they want and what needs to be done. Brenda informed us that's she will take the information in and do something about it, hopefully! She also said she would be more than happy to take any information we collect during our trip and any evidence/facts about the disability law in the UK.
'Its not a discrimination if a mall denies a blind man's entry if he has a guide dog with him'. This has actually happened in Cebu, Brenda and her colleague genuinely believes that it isn't a discrimination. Because it is the mall's rule.
I asked Brenda 'what's the law in the Philippines on disabled people?' She answered 'they are treated equally.' (Somewhere along those lines) I then told her that the blind man isn't being treated equally if he is denied an entrance to the mall. I also asked why didn't the police do something about it. She said no one reported it.
I replied to Brenda with this-
"But you know about it, so why haven't you done anything about it? If you have the law about treating the disabled people equal, and haven't done any action about this incident, you are breaking the rules yourself."
Byeeee! :)
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