Guidelines on Providing Proper Welfare of Persons with Disabilities during the Enhanced Community Quarantine Due to the Corona Virus 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

March 31, 2020

DILG MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 066-20

GUIDELINES ON PROVIDING PROPER WELFARE OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES DURING THE ENHANCED COMMUNITY QUARANTINE DUE TO THE CORONA VIRUS 2019 (COVID-19) PANDEMIC

1. Background

1.1. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), through the Economic, Social, Cultural, Rights (ESCR) Center, received several reports from persons with disabilities stating their fears due to the uncertainties they experience during the current situation. They reported the need for local government units to step up in particularly addressing their needs as human persons and to immediately and adequately support them in these challenging times.

1.2. Significantly, said persons with disabilities also belong to the marginalized groups due to health and financial difficulties even prior to the enhanced community quarantine. They feel that quarantine measures isolate them from accessing resources to fulfill their needs.

1.3. The Magna Carta of the Poor RA 11291 requires that government should provide poor people access to adequate food, decent work and highest attainable standard of health on progressive realization.

1.4. This Department, through its power of general supervision over local government units (LGUs), is a part of Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID) and is aware of the impact of COVID-19 on our people under enhanced community quarantine particularly on the vulnerable groups to include persons with disabilities under existing conditions experience severe difficulty in accessing food and health services.

1.5. In view of the foregoing, this supplemental guideline is issued to ensure persons with disabilities access to food and health services.

2. Purpose

These guidelines will provide uniform, programmatic and strategic approach by local government units (LGUs) to fulfill the needs of persons with disabilities, among others, manifests compliance to Article 11 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to wit:

"States Parties shall take, in accordance with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international humanitarian rights law, all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters."

This Department believes that if all local government units (LGUs) will keep track of all the initiatives undertaken at the community level, we will be able to address the needs of everyone and will ensure that no one should be left behind.

3. Scope

All DILG Regional Directors and Field Officers, Provincial Governors, City/Municipal Mayors, Punong Barangay, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Chief Minister, and all others concerned.

4. Policy Content and Guidelines

4.1. All Provincial Governors shall require their city and municipal Mayors to include in their list of beneficiaries (persons with disabilities) in the distribution of food pack during the quarantine period indicating the type of disability, the kind of food items received including medicine and vitamins.

4.2. All city and municipal Mayors shall require their Barangay Captains to include in their list of beneficiaries (persons with disabilities) in the distribution of food pack during the quarantine period indicating the type of disability, the kind of food items received including medicine and vitamins.

4.3. All Barangay Captains shall require all barangay workers to include in their list of beneficiaries (persons with disabilities) in the distribution of food pack during the quarantine period indicating the type of disability, the kind of food items received including medicine and vitamins.

4.4. All Barangay Captains shall submit this list to their city and municipal Mayors: all city and municipal mayors shall submit this list to their provincial Governors: all provincial Governors shall submit this data to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for consolidation of the reports. Please refer to the Annex.

4.5. All LGUs particularly the Barangay shall ensure that persons with disabilities are able to access adequate food and taking into consideration the nutritional requirement as provided by law and should allow the use of barangay vehicles for persons with disabilities under emergency situation.

4.6. Municipal and City Government shall support the barangay immediately during emergency situation should the barangay request for support.

4.7. All Provincial Government shall support their City and Municipal government in augmenting food supply, medicines and vitamins including transportation services readily available to the barangay captains upon request of a person with disability known to the barangay captain as marginalized or in distress or in need of immediate assistance.

4.8. This provision however does not mean to exclude other inhabitants of the barangay but because of difficulty of persons with disabilities to move around and being helpless under the enhanced community quarantine to include children with disability, pregnant women with disability, senior citizen with disability more consideration shall be given by the local chief executive for the above benefits.

5. Annex

5.1. CHR-ESRC Matrix on Monitoring of the Situation of Persons with Disability during COVID-19 Pandemic.

6. Effectivity

This Memorandum Circular shall take effect immediately and shall remain in force unless otherwise superseded or modified by subsequent policies and other issuances.

All DILG Regional Directors are hereby directed to cause the widest dissemination of this Circular.

7. Approving Authority

(SGD.) EDUARDO M. AÑOSecretary

8. Feedback

For inquiries, kindly contact directly the CHR-ESCR Center through cellphone number 0947 007 7249 and/or email address at [email protected]