Actor-politician Alfred Vargas always has a soft spot for the less privileged, specifically persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Unknown to many, the amputation of his beloved grandmother’s leg due to bone cancer when he was still a young eight-year-old boy exposed him to the challenges faced by a PWD and made a lasting impact on him.
He confessed to not being able to reconcile at once how a vibrant grandmother who led an active lifestyle could suddenly be imprisoned in a wheelchair and her movements be limited until her dying days.
“Losing her leg changed my Lola’s life. That’s why I wanted to help in my own little way to make things better for her somehow. I would collect tabs from soda cans after my mother told me that the manufacturers of wheelchairs use this to make one. While in school, I religiously donated soda can tabs because I wanted to help."
These days, in his pursuit of better governance towards providing social services for his constituents in the district of Novaliches in Quezon City, the lawmaker sees to it that the lessons he learned from the experience and the advocacy it consequently spurned in his spirit, shall never be lost on him.
Last month, on the occasion of his late Mother Susana Vargas’ birthday, Cong. Alfred launched via a Zoom press conference, a new program called PWeDe! for PWDs that focuses on supporting PWD livelihood centers, offering puhunan programs,providing wheelchairs and hearing aids.
Alfred also talked about his Pantawid Graduation program that grants financial aid to senior graduating students with disabilities. At the same time, the third-termer legislator also laid out plans for skills development and leadership trainings for both young and old this year.
“It’s time to empower PWDs who have long suffered from neglect. Sa tulong ng PWeDe!, gusto nating mabigyan ng pagkakataon ang PWDs na mangarap, makapagtrabaho, makatapos ng pag-aaral at magkaroon ng magandang buhay. Because in the end, PWEDE naman talaga kung magtutulungan lang tayo,” Vargas said, during a recent Zoom interview.
On his first term as councilor in 2011, Alfred filed an ordinance establishing a Persons with Disabilities Affairs Office (PDAO) in Quezon City. The ordinance was swiftly passed with the support of the city council, making Quezon City one the first local government units in the country to have an office dedicated to PWDs.
Vargas continued his advocacy for PWDs in the House of Representatives. Among the bills he has already filed are HB 1393(An Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of Persons with Disabilities), HB 2017 (An Act Mandating the Provision of Exclusive Parking Space for Persons with Disability and Penalizing Unauthorized Use Thereof), HB 3489 (An Act Providing for Accessibility to Built Environment, to Transportation, Information and Communications Technology and to Other Facilities and Services Open or Provided to the Public for Persons with Disabilities), and HB 4021 (An Act to Provide Persons with Disabilities with Online Volunteerism Opportunities).