Magna Carta for Disabled Persons

The Magna Carta for Disabled Persons (RA 7277) is an enumeration of the rights and privileges which should be granted to disabled persons and the corresponding acts which are considered discriminatory against them and thus are prohibited. Said law is an acknowledgment of the sad condition and status of disabled persons in our society, who by reason solely of their disability, are being subjected to unequal treatment and thus deprived of certain rights enjoyed by others, like for instance the opportunity to work among others..

They are prejudged as mere burdens of society, who cannot meaningfully participate in the life of the community or contribute to its well-being and thus at the very least are just objects of public welfare and charity, to be kept in asylums  like the sick or elderly who simply have to be cared for. Worse, like in Hitler’s time, they have been condemned to suffer the fate of extermination.   

The law seeks to demolish that image of the disabled person, accord to them the rights and privileges that they should enjoy out of respect to their inherent dignity as human persons and to break the barriers which prevent their full integration and meaningful participation in society.

The grant of the rights and privileges for disabled persons as enumerated in the law is guided by the following principles:

1)         Disabled persons are part of Philippine society. They have the same rights as other people;

2)         Notwithstanding their disability, they have skills and potentials which they

are capable of developing, thus enabling them to compete favorably for available opportunities

3)                  They can improve their total well-being, enabling them to live freely and

independently as possible, attain a more meaningful, productive and satisfying life and be integrated into the mainstream of society;

            4)         Thus, the State shall give full support to them:

a)         By adopting policies which will ensure their rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance;

b)         Advocating for and encouraging respect for them;

c)         Exerting all efforts to remove  social,  cultural,  economic, environmental and attitudinal barriers that are prejudicial to them;

5)         Finally, respect for their rights should be the concern of everyone and should not be perceived as mere welfare services from the Government, namely the family; community; government and nongovernment organizations; national and local government agencies as well as the private sector, which has a role in promoting their welfare and in addressing their needs and concerns in  partnership with government. 

These principles, to my mind but implement the mandates of the constitution to value the inherent dignity of the human person and accord full respect for their human rights (Section 11, Article II, 1987 Constitution) and promote social justice to improve the quality of life of all (Ibid, Section 10).

Human Dignity is the intrinsic worth and value of the human person; intrinsic because he has value or worth which does not depend on extrinsic factors like wealth, power, fame, unique talents or abilities but on the fact that he is a human person:

1)         one with intelligence: the capacity to understand, judge and reason and thus seek the truth and act guided by reason;  . 

2)                  one with freedom: the capacity to control his actions, to make choices and thus love, aspire for goodness and the full development of his potentials as a human person.

Human Rights are those which are due to a human person or which he is entitled to by reason of the fact that he is a human person; which must be respected, lest we degrade him and violate his dignity as a human person. We thus cannot do with him as we please; we cannot use them as mere means as we use objects. They are ends in themselves.

            Social Justice is the promotion of the welfare of all the people by providing guarantees of equality and protection:

1)         guarantees of equality of opportunities and political rights before the law; 

2)         guarantee of protection to the powerless and underprivileged based on the principle that those who have less in life should have more in law.

Indeed like all human persons, the disabled have an inherent dignity, value or worth which make them equal with all other human persons, which the State as a matter of policy is mandated to value; like all human persons, they have rights, which the State as a matter of policy is mandated to guarantee full respect for.

By reason however of their disability, which restrict or impair their abilities (mental, physical or sensory) and limits their performance of certain functions or activities, and by reason thereof, aggravated by social barriers or those which limit his fullest possible participation in the life of the group, they have historically been subjected to social, economic and political inequalities as well as cultural inequities.

As a measure then of social justice, which is one of the policies which the State is mandated to promote, disabled persons as a disadvantaged sector, are entitled to equality and protection (Ibid, Section 10), based on the principle that those who have less in life should have more in law.

These protections are the rights and privileges which the Magna Carta guarantees to them as well as the prohibitions the law provide to prevent discrimination against them.