Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian is set to hold an inspection of three electric buses intended for persons with disabilities members of Sustainable Livelihood Program Associations (SLPA) on Tuesday (June 17) at the DSWD Central Office grounds .

“Sa ilalim ng direktiba ng ating Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., wala dapat miyembro ng may kapansanan ang nakararanas ng pang-aabuso at diskriminasyon. Dahil dito, minabuti ng DSWD na maglaan ng e-buses para mabawasan ang dinaranas na diskriminasyon ng ating mga kababayang may kapansanan sa mga pampublikong sasakyan,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

The DSWD chief’s statement came in the wake of a viral social media post showing a male person with autism disorder being physically abused inside a public utility bus.

On instructions from Secretary Gatchalian, the DSWD Central Office Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU) visited the victim and his family in San Jose Del Monte City (SJDM) in Bulacan on Saturday (June 14) to assess the condition of the person with disability and provide the needed interventions.

The provision of electric vehicles is under the DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program’s (SLP) Persons with Disabilities – Electric Transportation Service (PWD-ETS) Project.

The PWD-ETS is a pilot project that aims to provide livelihood grants to persons with disabilities in SLPAs to purchase electric vehicles that are disability-friendly.

This will enable the beneficiaries to earn income while helping other persons with disabilities to safely access modes of transportation.

Each SLPA is composed of 115 members who are all persons with disability from 10 local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila.

The ceremonial turnover and blessing of the electric vehicles is scheduled on June 24.

The SLP is the DSWD’s capability-building program that provides opportunities to access and acquire livelihood assets to the poor, vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized sectors to improve their socio-economic conditions. (AKDL)