Human Rights Online Philippines

Protest Rally to stop DepEd Teacher Training on an artificial sign system in the education of Deaf students

Protest Rally Assembly point: 8am, April 29, 2013; Marikina NEAP, RELC, Marikina City Contact person: Rey Alfred Lee, President, PFD

The member organizations of the Philippine Federation of the Deaf, its supporters, co-advocates and colleagues, strongly protest the Department of Education’s National Teacher Training on Signing Exact English on April 29 to May 1 to be held in Marikina City, in collaboration with the LINK Center for the Deaf (DepEd Memorandum 29, s. 2013)1

The priority given to this artificial sign system is a slap in the face to the Filipino Deaf community which has labored for decades to research, document, and promote its unique cultural and linguistic identity and heritage. The Federation has advocated in the past several years for the recognition and use of Filipino Sign Language (FSL) as a true visual language. This unique
Philippine language has roots going back to the 1590s in Leyte.

The Federation has published linguistics references on Filipino Sign Language, conducted comprehensive field work for the National Sign Language Committee’s Status Report on the Use of Sign Language in the Philippines, and presented this research in national and international
forums and conferences. It has strongly advocated and rallied (even in the streets) to Congress for legislation on Filipino Sign Language.

Despite this, the Department continues to ignore the Filipino Deaf community, in violation of all of the ff:

• SPED policy on the use of Filipino Sign Language as the medium of instruction;
• Mother Language – Multilingual Education policy for all Filipino children;
• the Salamanca Statement on State responsibility to ensure that all deaf students have
• access to their national sign language; and
• 1http://deped.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_docman&view=document&slug=national-teacher-training-program-on-cyber-signlanguage-
• sl-signing-exact-english-see-network-program&Itemid=162&category_slug=memos-1&format=raw
• the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (particularly Art. 30 on the recognition of the cultural and linguistic identity of persons with disabilities).

Our dialogue with the Department in 2012, and various Congress committee deliberations on the FSL bill last year, have apparently meant nothing. The assurances of support made before the Congress Committee are all empty promises. By placing priority to the teaching of an artificial sign system, and spending hundreds of thousands of pesos for training of teachers nationally on this activity rather than on Filipino Sign Language, it has seriously undermined the self determination espoused in the Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities (Republic Act 7277).

The Department has violated its own mandate and is in breach of its international commitment to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Philippine Federation of the Deaf then calls on the Department to immediately suspend this training.

The Federation is organizing a protest rally beginning April 29 during the training at the NEAP, RELC, Marikina CIty. It enjoins all supporters of human rights and the Deaf community to join this rally.

We reiterate our call to stop this violation of the right to language and culture of the Filipino Deaf community. It calls on the officials of the Department of Education and Special Education to uphold the rights of Deaf Filipinos.

Philippine Federation of the Deaf
Philippine Federation of the Deaf Youth Section, Inc.
Filipino Deaf Women’s Health and Center Crisis
Support & Empower Abused Deaf Children
Philippine Sports Federation of the Deaf, Inc.
Laguna Association of the Deaf
Deaf Rainbow Philippines
Tarlac Province Association of the Deaf
Deaf Association of Pine City
Deaf Association of Iloilo
Mati Association of the Deaf (Davao)
Deaf Davao Association
Metrowide Organization of the Deaf
La Union Association of the Deaf
La Trinidad Province Association of the Deaf
Deaf Effeta Association
Cotabato Association of the Deaf
Deaf-VINTA (Zamboanga)
North Ilocos Association of the Deaf
Zamboanga Association of the Deaf
Cebu Association of the Deaf
Butuan Association of the Deaf
Deaf Association of Misamis Oriental
Deaf Clubies
Leyte Association of the Deaf
Cabuyong Association of the Deaf

2 The dialogue between the Deaf and the Department of Education. http://vimeo.com/28876614

Iboto ang iyong #HRPinduterosChoice para sa HR EVENTS.

Ang botohan ay magsisimula ngayon hanggang sa 11:59 ng Nov 15, 2013.

Ikaw para kanino ka pipindot? Simple lang bumoto:
• i-LIKE ang thumbnail/s ng iyong mga ibinoboto sa HRonlinePH facebook, i-share at
ikampanya.
• Bisitahin ang post sa HRonlinePH.com (links sa bawat thumbnail) at pindutin ang button sa
poll sa ilalim ng bawat nominadong post.
• Most number of the combined likes sa FB at sa poll buttons ang magiging 3rd HR Pinduteros
Choice na kikilalanin sa 2013 HR week celebration.

Makiisa sa pagpapalaganap ng impormasyon hinggil sa karapatang pantao. Pindot na!

WHAT IS 3RD HR PINDUTEROS CHOICE AWARDS? https://hronlineph.com/2013/10/01/3rd-human-rights-
pinduteros-choice-awards/

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.