Ms. Carmen Zubiaga, OIC of the Philippine National Council on Disability Affairs delivers the Philippine statement at the 12th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
11 June 2019, New York – National Council on Disability Affairs Officer-in-Charge Carmen Zubiaga cited the Philippine government’s decision to prioritize the collection of data on disability to steer services and programs to persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Addressing representatives of Member States, UN agencies and civil society organizations during the general discussion of the 12th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP 12), Ms. Zubiaga highlighted the importance of data in the ongoing efforts of the Philippine government in addressing the specific needs of persons with disabilities.
“The NCDA passed a board resolution urging all government agencies to establish a disability inter-bureau technical working group to steer convergence of their departments’ programs and services on persons with disabilities,” Ms. Zubiaga recalled.
Ms. Zubiaga noted that the results of the Medical Disability Survey conducted by the Department of Health and Philippine Statistics Authority using the Washington Group Set of Questions revealed that there was an increase in the percentage of persons with disabilities to the general population from 1.57 % in 2010 to an estimate of 12% under the current census.
COSP 12 takes place from 11 to 13 June 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on the theme “Ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities in a changing world through the implementation of the CRPD.” The Philippine delegation is composed of representatives from the National Council on Disability Affairs, Department of Health, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Commission on Human Rights and civil society organizations. END