EMPLOYMENT SITUATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITY (PWD):

IMPLICATIONS TO POLICY

A Term Paper
Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the
Laguna Northwestern College
San Antonio, San Pedro City, Laguna

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the course
Business Policy
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CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………..………………………… 1

DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS…………………………………………………….. 3

Persons with Disabilities, Definitions and Concept…………………………… 3

Policy and Legislations concerning Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)……….. 5

Employment Situation of Persons with Disabilities…………………………… 7

Barriers to Employment of PWDs…………………………………………….. 10

CONCLUSION……………….…………………………………………………. 13

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………. 15
 INTRODUCTION

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are among the vulnerable groups in the country that

need utmost attention from the government. This is the perhaps the reason why the

institutional and legal environment has been made favorable to this particular group,

especially in the area of employment. However, earlier reports note that the quality of

employment of PWDs still needs improvement.

In the Philippines, the Republic Act No. 7277 or the Magna Carta for Disabled

Persons (specifically Section 32), which took effect in 1992, ensures equal opportunities for

suitable employment to PWDs as their able-bodied counterparts. A number of policies,

programs and services had already been implemented in relation to employment of PWDs

(IDRM: 96). There have also been employment-related programs and services provided by the

government to PWDs, which include the following: Tulong Alalay sa Taong May

Kapansanan (TULAY) program, or Support services to PWDs, of the Department of Labor

and Employment (DOLE); Assistance package for PWDs of the Department of Trade and

Industry (DTI); Philippine National Skills Competition for PWDs of the Technical, Education

and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); Science and Technology Intervention for the

Poor, the Vulnerable and PWDs of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST);

among others (Mori, Reyes & Yamagata, 2009; Purcil, 2009).

Despite the efforts of the government in promoting anti-discriminatory practices in the

area of employment and providing various employment-related programs and services for

PWDs, it seems that employment for this segment of the population still need improvement.
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Schelzig (2005) estimated that only less than 10 percent of more than 100,000 employable

PWDs registered with the DOLE were wage employed.

Despite all the legislation and policies that has been enacted since the implementation

of RA 7277, persons with disabilities in the Philippines are still experiencing barriers to

employment and working environment, which prevent them from functioning equally

alongside their able-bodied colleagues. But given with appropriate policies and support, the

author believes that PWDs can also become productive citizens and contribute to the national

development. With their large numbers, the short-term costs of educating and integrating

persons with disabilities will be surpassed by the long-term savings to families and society if

they will be allowed to develop their skills, intellectual and physical potential, and engage in

economic activities. It is against this background that this paper will examine the employment

situation of persons with disabilities in the Philippines.

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DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

This section discusses and analyzes previous literature and studies related to persons

with disabilities, policies and legislations concerning mainstreaming of PWDs into society,

and employment situation and experiences of PWDs.

Persons with Disabilities, Definitions and Concept

The body of literature on the life of persons with disability in the Philippines is very

limited. For one, the area of disability as a research subject suffers from huge data constraints.

In fact, the most recent government estimate of PWD in the Philippines was that from the

2000 Census of Population and Housing conducted by the National Statistics Office putting

the number of PWD at 1.2 percent of the total population (or 942,000). The key household

surveys conducted by the NSO also do not include variables on disability. PWD organizations

in fact face difficulty in their advocacy efforts and clamor for government assistance because

of lack of concrete data on the situation of PWDs in the country (Tabuga, 2010).

The concept of disability is multidimensional. When interpreted as an illness,

disability is seen as fixed in an individual’s body or mind. When interpreted as a social

concept, disability is about the life of the PWDs and their interaction with the environment.

Understanding disability as an illness, focused on the disability (e.g. disability to hear or

walk) which must be cured through medical intervention. While in terms of its social

definition, understanding disability focused on integrating PWDs in society, and the issue is

not because of disability but because of lack or non-inclusion of PWDs (Domingo, 2009).
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Different institutions have different definition of disability. The WHO defines

disability as "any restriction or lack (resulting from any impairment) of ability to perform an

activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being." According

to the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with

Disabilities, the term “disability” summarizes a great number of different functional

limitations occurring in any population, in any country of the world. People may be disabled

by physical, intellectual or sensory impairment, medical conditions or mental illness that

maybe permanent or transitory in nature (Fojas, 2012).

In the Philippines, the term “disability” as defined in the Magna Carta for Disabled

Persons is a “physical impairment that substantially limits one or more psychological,

physiological or anatomical function of an individual or activities of such individual.” It also

means “a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment”

(Republic Act No. 9442)

On the other hand, PWDs, as defined by the Philippine Law, are persons suffering

from restriction of different abilities, as a result of a mental, physical or sensory impairment,

in performing an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human

being (1987 Philippine Constitution).

The word "disability" is normally linked with someone in a wheelchair. But there are

many different types of disability. The NSO classified persons with disability as follows:

 People with Visual Disability (total blindness, partial blindness, or with low

vision)

 People with Mental Health or Psychological Difficulty (regularly intellectually

impaired, severe intellectually impaired, regularly impaired by mental illness,

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severely impaired by mental illness, with regular/mild cerebral palsy, or severe

cerebral palsy)

 People with Hearing Disability (people who are totally deaf or with partial

deafness, or poor hearing ability)

 People with Physical Disability (with one hand, no hands, with one leg, no legs)

 People with Multiple Disability ( regularly multiple impaired, severely multiple

impaired, severely multiple impaired)

Policy and Legislations concerning Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)

Policy initiatives of the Philippines for the economic development of persons with

disabilities are enshrined in the Philippine Constitution of 1987 and reaffirmed by various

legislations and executive issuances anchored in some international commitments. Article 13,

Section 13 of the Constitution recognizes the need for the establishment of rehabilitation, self-

development, self-reliance, and their integration into the mainstream of society.

The most comprehensive legislation of the Philippines for PWDs is the Republic Act

No. 7277 known as the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons. The law is passed in 1992 which

serves as guiding principles for the rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance of

PWDs and their integration into the mainstream of society. It has specific provisions on the

rights and privileges of PWDs to employment, education, health, auxiliary social services,

telecommunications, accessibility, and political and civil rights. Moreover, it ensures the

protection of their rights through the prohibition of discrimination against them.

RA 9442 passed on April 30, 2007, on the other hand, amends the earlier RA 7277 and

mandated more privileges for the differently-abled. The Magna Carta for the PWD aims to
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fully integrate differently-abled persons into the mainstream of Philippine society. The term

used in the new law referring to the differently-abled is now “Person with Disability” instead

of “disabled person” which was used in the old law.

Under the new law, differently-abled persons are now entitled to a minimum of 20%

discount on various services from business establishments such as hotel and lodging,

restaurants, recreation centers, theaters, cinemas, carnivals, concerts, etc. They are also

entitled to the same discount amount on medicine purchases and medical and dental services.

The discount applies as well for domestic air, sea and land travel and public railways for

PWDs. To enjoy these incentives however, the law requires that PWDs show identification as

PWDs.

RA 9442 as well prohibits the ridicule and vilification of the differently-abled.

Violators of this law face penalties ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 and imprisonment from

60 months to six years at the discretion of the court. The law also mandates that any person

who abuses the privileges granted by the law shall be punished with imprisonment of not less

than 6 months or a fine of not less than 5,000 but not more than 50,000 or both at the

discretion of the court.

Another important legislation is Executive Order No. 417. Declaring the

Implementations of the Economic Independence Program for Persons with Disabilities. This

E.O. was issued to develop and enhance the social and vocational skills capabilities of persons

with disabilities. To ensure markets for products and services of PWDs and their

organizations engaged in business, all government agencies, Instrumentalities, State

Universities and Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations are mandated to employ

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PWDs. In addition, they are also mandated to avail of the services of PWD cooperatives and

organizations by procuring at least 10% of their requirements of goods and services.

According to Fojas (2012), for the past decades, the Philippines have significant

efforts and initiatives for employment mainstreaming of persons with disabilities. These

efforts are evident with the number of disability-related Conventions and international

commitments that the country signed; the national policies issued; and programs and projects

implemented. To strengthen its efforts for the total development of PWDs, the Philippines

signed for the ratification of the following international instruments:

Employment Situation of Persons with Disabilities

With society’s emphasis on equality, a more inclusive environment is available for

people with disabilities (PWD) in some fields. For example, in the area of employment, most

employers, especially those from large companies, are interested in hiring PWD (Lu, 2014).

In the field of healthcare, helping professionals hold favorable viewpoints toward PWD

(Satchidanand et al., 2012). In an educational setting, students with disabilities are encouraged

and well accommodated to study with peers without disabilities (Barr & Bracchitta cited in

Lu, 2014). These facts tend to confirm that the current social attitude toward PWD is positive,

and optimistic.

In an article on the Philippine Daily Inquirer written by Cortes (2013), it was revealed

that despite numerous local and international decrees on the acceptance of PWDs in

mainstream employment, they still experience various forms of discrimination. According to

the reports released by the Philippine National Statistics Office and the Asian Development

Bank in 2005, only about 10 to 30 percent of employable PWDs in the country are engaged in
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regularly paid work. A sizeable 50 percent work in the informal sector, and the rest are

homemakers or are dependent on other family members, government aid, and even begging

for economic survival (cited in Cortes, 2013).

In surveys conducted in 2011 among 210 employers from various industries in the

three regions in Northern Luzon and Central Luzon, the perception of Filipino employers

toward PWDs in the workplace can be classified into four categories: First is “Negative

Stereotype” (low productivity, frequent absenteeism and turnover), and second is “Added

Business Value” (image as having positive work ethics, morale booster, company prestige).

Third is “Added Cost and Efforts at Management” (additional safety measures, needs closer

training and supervision) and fourth is “Social Cost” (negative reactions from customers and

co-workers). Statistical analysis showed that the factor “Added Business Value” proved to be

the best predictor for hiring PWDs. The primary and often only consideration of Philippine

employers is the positive company image that decisions to hire PWDs will bring to the

company (Cortes, 2013).

Service industries are most likely to hire PWDs. Small-scale enterprises also showed

the most favorable attitude towards employing PWDs. Those with a history of employing

PWDs will most likely hire them again; with many of these employers agreeing that PWDs

have consistently shown satisfactory work performance in their companies. They also claim to

be less worried about the usual cost and management issues associated with hiring PWDs

(Cortes, 2013).

Cortes (2013) further disclosed that it was surprising that the education sector, ideally

tasked to form the consciousness and attitude of youth, appeared to be the most apprehensive

about the social cost of hiring PWDs. Although schools are expected to be forerunners and
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advocates of inclusion, there seems to be a need for school owners and leaders to consider

exposing its different stakeholders to PWDs. It may help to provide avenues for adequate and

appropriate interaction among PWDs and their employees, students, parents and other

members of the school community.

In a most recent disability survey conducted by Mina (2013) which examined the

employment profile of PWDs in the Philippines, in selected cities of Metro Manila (urban)

and Rosario, Batangas (rural), her key findings showed the following: 1) Proportion of

employed among PWD respondents in the urban area is relatively higher than that in the rural

area; (2) Roughly half of working PWDs are underemployed; (3) Employed PWDs in the

urban area is dominated by the visually-impaired while the hearing-impaired has the highest

proportion of employed in the rural area; (4) The leading occupation among PWDs in the

urban area is masseur while farmer/farm worker/ livestock and poultry raiser in the rural area,

although many respondents in both areas are also engaged in entrepreneurial activities (e.g.,

managing a sari-sari store, e-load business, among others) and are working as helpers/utility

workers or laborers; (5) The majority of employed respondents in both areas are considered as

vulnerable workers—self-employed and unpaid family workers; (6) Some PWDs who are

wage/salary workers are considered as informally employed as they are working as temporary

workers without formal contract, seasonal workers, or hired on a daily basis; and, (8) It also

revealed that PWDs who are at least college graduates are more closely related to being

officers/managers/supervisors, professionals and technicians/associate professionals while

those who are at most elementary graduates tend to be laborers/unskilled and agricultural

workers.
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It was concluded that given the types of work assumed by PWDs, majority of the

employed PWDs in rural and urban areas are considered as vulnerable workers. Some

wage/salary workers, who are either temporary workers without a written contract, seasonal

workers, or hired on a daily basis, can be considered as informally employed. A significant

percentage of employed PWDs are classified as own-account workers (which are basically

self-employed) and a few others are unpaid family workers. Some PWDs who are in paid

employment are considered to be informally employed because they are working as

temporary workers without formal contract, seasonal workers and hired on a daily basis.

These types of occupation lack security of tenure (Mina, 2013).

Barriers to Employment of PWDs

Several studies have shown that PWDs are handicapped by different social, economic,

physical, and political conditions that served as barriers for PWDs to equally participate in the

labor market. Stigma of disability, lack or limited education and rehabilitation services, and

poor understanding on the capabilities and aspirations of disabled persons, are among the few

barriers that resulted to their lack of opportunities to formal employment. PWDs tend to

engage in self-employment or sort to any kind of economic opportunities available for them

just to become productive. Workers with disabilities normally fall behind other jobseekers,

particularly when there is over supply of unemployed (Donnelly & Joseph, 2012; Fojas, 2012;

Gonzales, 2009; Houtenville & Kalargyrou, 2012; Mina 2010; Mori et al., 2009).

Studies have also shown that the problem that needs to be addressed is neither

biological nor medical and that it is not the individual but the social context that is disabling.

The problems are the prevailing social norms, environmental barriers, and negative attitudes
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constructed and held by the nondisabled members of society. This restricts the ability of

people with impairments to become integral members of society and equal citizens of their

communities (Donnelly & Joseph, 2012; Fojas, 2012; Gonzales, 2009; Markel & Barclay

2009; Mina 2013).

The negative attitudes of employers, assumptions, and myths about people with

disability impede the PWDs entry to formal employment. They suffer various forms of

attitudinal and environmental barriers including: access to employment, obtaining appropriate

work, retaining work, receiving appropriate skills, lack of educational qualifications,

inaccessible environment and transport systems, etc. that tend to limit their ability to

participate effectively in economic activities (Buljevac, Majdak & Leutar, 2012; Fojas, 2012;

Gonzales, 2009; Houtenville & Kalargyrou, 2012; Markel & Barclay 2009).

Physical barriers like public transportation, roads, structures, etc. also hinder their full

participation and reduce the economic contribution of persons with disabilities. And when

they became employed, PWDs tend to work longer with lower salary, face a greater risk of

becoming unemployed again for longer periods, and have fewer chances of promotion

(Houtenville & Kalargyrou, 2012; Markel & Barclay 2009; Buljevac et al., 2012; Mina, 2010,

2013).

Kaye, Jans, and Jones (2011) reported why employers did not hire and/or retain

workers with disabilities. The study showed that costs of accommodations, not knowing of

how to deal with workers with disabilities, fear of being stuck with lawsuits, difficulty

assessing an individual’s ability to work, extra time on supervision, and discrimination were

among the factors for not hiring/retaining workers with disabilities. In sum, although

employers generally disclosed favorable attitudes toward hiring PWD, in practice, their actual
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behaviors were not consistent with their expressed intentions. Deeply-rooted negative

attitudes toward individuals with disabilities still shape the mainstreaming viewpoints or

myths about disability as well as people who have it.

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CONCLUSION

Since the passing of RA 7277 in 1992, various policies and guidelines, pertaining to

the employment of persons with disabilities (PWDs) have been promulgated. All of these

policies highlighted the importance of employment equity and equality within the working

environment. Despite all these policies and guidelines, PWDs are still experiencing barriers

within the working environment. These barriers prevent them from functioning optimally and

equally alongside able-bodied colleagues.

Moreover, for the past decades, the Philippine government has been taking efforts to

integrate PWDs into the mainstream of society. Several laws, policies and programs toward

their protection, rehabilitation and development have been issued and implemented. However,

continued low employment of PWDs, negative stereotypes and employment discrimination

present significant barriers to the integration of people with disabilities in the workplace.

Thus, it can be inferred that in the Philippines, the needs and requirements of PWDs are still

not integrated into the general considerations of the workplace.

Better policies and programs are needed in order to mainstream PWDs into the society

and provide them with equal employment or livelihood opportunities, as well as empower the

PWDs. The government should provide special assistance to PWDs particularly those who are

male with families belonging to poorer households via provision of additional source of

livelihood to their families. Rehabilitation and livelihood assistance to these PWDs can also

be provided by concerned government agencies and NGOs. The government could also work

in partnership with private establishments and non-government organizations in conducting

regular activities catered for PWDs which include job/income-generating trainings,

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socialization, and rehabilitation, among others. In addition, it is also important that there are

job placement and/or assistance programs available in the area so that PWDs will not face

difficulty in finding a decent and productive work.

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