CARMONA, Cavite – The municipal government’s Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) was conferred the 2022 Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award-Group Category on Wednesday, March 8, for its comprehensive program for persons with disabilities (PWD).

Presidential Lingkod Bayan is part of the Civil Service Commission’s annual Honor Awards Program which recognizes public service exemplars.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. handed the plaque to PDAO Head Rosebelle Ligaya Mercurio and team members Jerrold Zamora Hernandez, Jenalyn Babila Papango, Angelica Maniquiz Victorio, and Merlea Oesmer Alegre. Mayor Dahlia A. Loyola was also present at the awarding.

Photo from Mayor Dahlia A. Loyola's Facebook Page / MANILA BULLETIN

The group’s award-winning program is the Comprehensive Approach Responsive Education and Rehabilitation (CARER), an education and livelihood initiative catering to young PWDs.

Beneficiaries of the program include deaf and blind learners, as well as persons with physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, down syndrome, autism, and cerebral palsy.

In an interview with the Manila Bulletin, Mercurio said the program prepares children with disabilities for integration into the regular school setting.

“Because of this program, some of our PWD learners have graduated and are now employed and have an independent life,” Mercurio said.

Learners who can not attend regular schools, on the other hand, are trained in a livelihood program.

“It’s a holistic program that offers not only education but also career prospects and livelihood opportunities through technical training and income generating activities, making them capable and confident in dealing with an inclusive society,” Mercurio added.

Under the livelihood program component, learners are taught how to turn recycled materials into gift items like bags, wall clocks, coin banks, refrigerator magnets, and more. These items are sold to the local government unit, bazaar shoppers, and corporate entities that pre-order them.

PDAO is set to open DEAFinitely Happy Store, a shop that will be manned by deaf persons and persons with down syndrome.