• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
A resolution enjoining the participation of all city government departments, educational institutions, the 61 barangays, and all residents of Bacolod City to the celebration of the “National Disability Rights Week” from July 17 to 23, was approved by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod Monday.
Authored by Councilor Simplicia Distrito, the resolution said that on June 13, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., issued Proclamation No. 597, “Declaring the Period July 17 to 23 of every year as National Disability Rights Week.”
The said Proclamation repealed Proclamation No. 1870 series of 1979 that declared the third week of July of every year as “National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) Week,” and Proclamation No. 362 series of 2000 that declared July 23 of every year as the culmination of the NDPR Week, in commemoration of the date of birth of the sublime paralytic, Apolinario Mabini, it said.
The repeal was done so as to make the celebration consistent with the purpose of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and to promote a rights-based approach on the celebration (Proclamation No. 597, the resolution said.
Despite the appeal, the purpose of the celebration holds true that this is the time to stimulate public awareness of the problems of disability, encourage every citizen to take active responsibility in uplifting the economic and social conditions of the disabled members of our society, and highlight the nation’s efforts towards disability prevention and rehabilitation, it said.*
