Persons with disabilities from different Disabled Peoples' Organization (DPOs) submitted complaint letters to the Commission on Human Rights regarding violations of (1) the 20% discount on medicine by some drugstores & (2) provision of accessibility in building footbridges.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 10% of a given population is persons with disabilities. With a 90 million population, there are 9 million Filipinos affected with some form of disability. 90% of this 9 million are poor and 80% of them are living in the rural areas where programs and services are not available or are inaccessible due to the prohibitive cost.
Medicines are vital to the day to day existence of PWD including children with AD/HD, autism, seizure disorder and other developmental disabilities who rely on their daily maintenance to stabilize their condition. Cancer survivors with resulting impairment consume daily doses of medicines.
In 2006, Republic Act 9442, an amendment to RA 7277, known as the Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities mandates all drug stores and pharmacies to provide twenty (20%) discounts for every purchase of medicines similar to that of the senior citizens. It has been more than a year since the Department of Health issued Administrative Order No. 2009 – 0011 that mandates the full implementation of this law. However, to this date the Drug Store Association of the Philippines (DSAP) led by Mercury Drug Corporation (a company operating more than 450 drugstores) continuously violates the aforementioned law.
Members of DPOs around the country have numerous reports on the refusal to provide the discount of the mentioned business establishments. For this reason, persons with disabilities from different Disabled People's Organization (DPOs) joined ranks and filed their complaint against drugstores violating the provision in R.A. 9442.
BP 344, also known as the Accessibility Law, is an act to enhance the mobility of disabled persons by requiring certain buildings, institutions, establishments, and public utilities to install facilities and other devices. This law is in effect for almost 3 decades now but has been violated in numerous instances. The complaint pointed out, for the moment, the inaccessible footbridges which were all built in violation of the provisions of the Accessibility Law.
In some footbridges, there are futile attempts to include accessibility features. These attempts even made it more dangerous for persons with disabilities to use them. Take for example the footbridge in EDSA corner Quezon Avenue. One of the approaches of the ramp is not cemented and most of the time wet and muddy. The ramp is too steep that even with assistance it would be an arduous task to go up and a dangerous downhill trek. The structures of the steps are also not helpful for blinds using walking canes. There are no tactile markings for directions. All these and the other flaws are more of hindrances and not in consonance with the Accessibility Law.
The complaint letters were read by Mrs. Dang Koe of Autism Society Philippines and Abner Manlapaz of Life Haven Independent Living Center respectively before formally handing them over to Commissioner Norberto Dela Cruz of CHR. Commissioner Norberto Dela Cruz expressed his concern and vowed to look into this and take corresponding actions.
After submitting the formal complaint letter to the CHR, the group went to the Mercury Drugstore in Philcoa. The press people witnessed the violation continuously being committed by Mercury drugstore with regards to the implementation of R.A. 9442. Even after presenting the requirements for purchasing medicine, no discount was given.
The group then proceeded to inspect the EDSA/Quezon Ave. footbridge. The press people were given the chance of experiencing the difficulty of using the ramp on a wheelchair and the life-threatening alternative of crossing EDSA worming through the traffic
