Text and photos by VERLIE Q. RETULIN
THE City’s Persons with Disabilities Office is located inside the Mayor’s Coordinating Office at the Cuneta Astrodome, and is under the supervision of Pasay Social Welfare Development Office. It has yet to have its own office space and its own budget.
“Kung may PDAO na po kami, may sarili na po kaming budget, makakahanap po kami ng sariling office. Ito po nakiki-office lang kami. Nakikisiksik lang kami diyan. Meron lang kaming table (Once we have our own PDAO, we can have own budget and we can set up our own office. Right now, we only share an office (with another local government agency). What we have is only a table),” Hilda Cristobal, Vice President of Pasay Federation of PWD, said.
There are no PWDs in the office—not even its focal person, according to Cristobal.
Pasay has 201 barangays, and Cristobal said there were efforts for each barangay to have their own PWD desks. As of January 2015, there are 2,071 PWDs in Pasay.