The government is ready to accommodate transactions from hearing and speech impairments, now that the Filipino Sign Language (FSL) Act is already enacted into law.
National Economic and Development Authority 11 (NEDA 11) Regional Director Maria Lourdes D. Lim on Wednesday said that government agencies are equipped with personnel who will accommodate persons with disabilities such as deaf persons.
On the part of the Career Executive Service Office (CESO), Lim said they are engaging with the private sectors on addressing this requirement by hiring Special Education (SPED) teachers to facilitate them.
“They can provide assistance to our government agencies in the proper communication with this group of people,” Lim said.
Lim also cited that other agencies such as the Department of Labor and Employment have human resource personnel who is trained to accomodate deaf applicant who are seeking for employment opportunities.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed into a law an Act declaring the FSL Act as the national sign language of the Filipino Deaf.
Under the law, FSL will be “the official sign language of the government in all transactions involving the deaf and mandate its use in schools, broadcast media, and workplaces.”
The Department of Education (DepED), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and all other national and local government agencies involved in the education of the deaf to use and coordinate with each other on the use of FSL as the medium of instruction in deaf education.
Lim also said that with the passage of the law, this would give equal opportunities for the deaf in the recruitment and promotion of work, be it government or private institutions.
“They are considered qualified or competent candidate applicants for as long as they meet the standards of offices that they are applying for, because that is what we are trying to address,” Lim said.
