A lawmaker is not losing hope that the House-approved measure providing for the creation of Municipal Special Education Centers for deaf-mute and blind children could still be passed by the Senate.
“I am still hoping that HB 6547, which was passed by the House of Representatives on September 20, 2012, would still see the light of day in the Senate before the close of the 15th Congress in June,” Rep. Diosdado Macapagal Arroyo (2nd District, Camarines Sur) said.
The Bicol lawmaker said HB 6547, which he authored with his mother, Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, seeks to concretize the constitutional mandate that the State shall “promote the right of all citizens to quality education… and to make such education accessible to all.”
“As compared to normal children, deaf-mute and blind children have different and special needs which require careful attention and care,” he said. HB 6547 substitutes the original HB 6495 filed by the Arroyos.
Arroyo recalled that in the early 90s, the Congressional Commission on Education or EDCOM had already reported the inadequacy of programs and the poor access to special education (SPED) due to the limited number of schools and SPED centers in the country.
In DECS Order No. 117, series of 1987, under Policies and Guidelines governing Special Education, it categorized and identified those persons with sensory impairment as special education clientele, Arroyo noted.
The bill is timely and important as it seeks to address the problem of limited SPED facilities by establishing Municipal Special Education Centers for deaf-mute and blind children, Arroyo said.
“This proposed statute ensures the ease of accessibility for such children to SPED facilities in every municipality throughout the country,” Arroyo added.