Prioritize effective implementation of ‘Inclusive Education Law’--Gatchalian

As the country celebrates the International Day of Persons with Disabilities Saturday, Dec. 3, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged the Marcos administration to ensure that learners with disabilities are not left behind in the education sector's recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gatchalian said this entails the effective implementation of Republic Act (RA) No. 11650, or "Instituting a Policy of Inclusion and Services for Learners with Disabilities in Support of Inclusive Education Act", which he sponsored during the 18th Congress.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education likewise reiterated the urgency of increasing enrollment among learners with disabilities, which remained far from pre-pandemic levels as of last school year.

Based on the data of the Department of Education (DepEd) as of March 14, 2022, there were 126,598 learners with disabilities enrolled in DepEd schools for School Year (SY) 2021-2022, 65 percent lower than the 360,879 recorded for SY 2019-2020.

During the budget deliberations for the 2023 national budget, Gatchalian pushed for the allocation of funding for DepEd's Special Education (SPED)program to ensure that learners with disabilities will receive support.

To ensure that all regions in the Philippines will have a model Inclusive Learning Resource Center (ILRC) for Learners with Disabilities, Gatchalian proposed to increase the budget of DepEd's capital outlay for SPED from P96 million to P160 million.

Gatchalian also vowed earlier this year that he would move for the conduct of regular and conscientious oversight of the implementation of the law.

Pursuant to the policy of inclusion of the law, Gatchalian said he wants to see all public and private schools ensuring equitable access to quality to every learner with disability, such that no learner should be denied admission on the basis of disability.

Under Republic Act (RA) No. 11650, ILRCs are mandated to implement inclusive education programs and deliver free support services to learners with disabilities, including language and speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical and physiotherapy, provision of qualified sign language interpreters, and other similar services, aids, and actions that facilitate the learning process.

The lawmaker added that in the long run, the government should meet the target to build at least one ILRC in every school district, city, or municipality, which the DepEd shall build in coordination with local government units (LGUs).