If elected as the next President, Vice President Leni Robredo wants the full implementation of the law for the protection of persons with disability.
She vowed to provide mandatory health insurance for PWDs, saying the issue of disability is close to her since three of her in-laws – the father, brother, and sister of her late husband Jesse Robredo – are blind due to a genetic ailment.
The Robredos founded the Lolo Jose Foundation, a charitable organization to help the blind.
She recently signed a covenant with a coalition of leaders from the PWD sector with 21 other signatories from various disability-affiliated organizations.
“You know, disability runs in the family. That is why it is something personal to us. This is not just an advocacy that we have adopted, but something personal we have to fight for since many members of the family have the disability,” Robredo said.
“There are too many limitations if the buy-in of the national government is not 100 percent. We still have too many things to do but if the national government does not take the issue to the heart, many of the opportunities for the PWDs are not being maximized,” the Vice President added.
She lamented the “very dismal” implementation of Batas Pambansa 344 or the accessibility law and mandatory PWD membership in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).