Senator Grace Poe said she looks forward to the timely and meaningful implementation of a law that provides the deaf and hard of hearing equal access to information on television, with the finalization of its implementing rules and regulations within the year.
Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chairperson Eugenio Villareal reported to the public information and mass media committee chaired by Poe that the IRR will be approved next month.
Republic Act No. 10905, or the Closed Caption Law which Poe championed in the 16th Congress, makes it mandatory for television operators to include closed captions in presenting their programs to benefit the deaf and hard-of-hearing sector.
“It is the right of every citizen to have equal opportunity toward the inclusive growth of the country,” she said.
It is our shared responsibility to ensure that all Filipinos have equal access to opportunities,” Poe added.
The law is consistent with the Philippines’ commitment to provide equal opportunities to the deaf and hard-of-hearing when it ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008.
Exemptions will be given to franchise holders or operators of TV stations and program producers on public service announcements that are shorter than 10 minutes; programs shown from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m.; programs that are primarily textual in nature; and when compliance would be economically burdensome to TV operators.