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Filed Under: Sport, Disabled, Government

ADELINE DUMAPONG HAS LONG BEEN BRINGING honor to the country as an

athlete, competing in powerlifting events in the Paralympics, a parallel activity that
usually takes place alongside or immediately before or after an Olympics.

Unfortunately, the Paralympics doesn¶t receive as much media coverage or attention as

the Olympics. This, even if the back stories of many of the disabled competitors at the
Paralympics are more moving and interesting than those of the much-hyped Olympians.

Now, based on Adeline¶s experience, it seems that local sports officials also do not
consider the achievements of disabled athletes as important or significant as those of
their able-bodied counterparts. In fact, as Adeline¶s story reveals, sports big-wigs do not
even consider disabled athletes as ³real´ athletes, deserving of recognition, support or
subsidies.

Although he expects the sports hierarchy to be reshuffled soon with the new Aquino
administration, Mike Barredo, who heads Philspada, the local sports body for athletes
with disabilities, says he decided to make public Adeline¶s humiliating experience
because ³how Ms Dumapong was treated/scolded instead of being praised and
motivated´ should not be allowed to pass without comment or consequences.

Adeline, Barredo reminds, is an athlete who has won medals for the Philippines in the
Paralympics, Asean and Asian Para Games for powerlifting. Because of her
achievements, Philspada endorsed her participation in the International Paralympic
Committee Athlete Leadership Summit in Bonn, Germany.

It was in this context that Adeline wrote to Harry Angping, chair of the Philippine Sports
Commission, requesting for financial support for her impending trip to Germany. The
PSC is charged with the development of Filipino athletes, including supporting their
international forays.

The following is Adeline¶s account of her encounter with Angping, with some editing for
brevity.

***

³I WAS asked by the Chairman to meet him on June 7 regarding my request for financial
assistance. I arrived at the PSC lobby around 11:15 a.m. and because I was in a
wheelchair and could not go up to his fourth floor office (at once a violation of the
accessibility code²RJD), I asked the guard to advise the chairman¶s office of my arrival.

³However, the Chairman was busy and I was told by a member of his staff to just wait. I
waited for more than two hours before Angping could finally see me. When he came
down to the lobby, he apologized to the staff for his tardiness but not to me, in spite of
the fact that he was the one who asked me to see him at the agreed time.

³He then called me to a corner and I was expecting that we would begin to discuss the
details of my letter. But alas, he started loudly berating me concerning Philspada
matters. I clearly remember him saying that the PSC is not mandated to help disabled
athletes and that we (disabled athletes) should go to the DSWD instead. He also told me
to tell Philspada officials and athletes not to ask any (more money) from the PSC
because disabled sports are not competitive.

³I should have known that the Chairman¶s tardiness without apology is an indication of
how µlittle¶ he sees me as a person. After hearing him vent for almost 30 minutes, I felt so
beaten that I cried. I cried because of embarrassment; we were in the lobby of the PSC,
for God¶s sake! I cried out of frustration because I wanted to answer back but had to
µswallow¶ my words because of his position. Most of all I cried because of a sad truth that
dawned on me: the chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission does not fully grasp
the reality that µSports is for All,¶ including children, youth, women and people with
disabilities. Despite occupying the highest position in the PSC, Chairman Angping needs
to be enlightened that we now have the Magna Carta for People with Disabilities, the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other laws that uplift and
protect the rights of PWDS.´

***

THE UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities declares that the state
should enable ³persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in
recreational, leisure and sporting activities,´ including encouraging and promoting ³the
participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream
sporting activities at all levels.´

By insisting that the PSC has no obligation to support the travel of an athlete with
disability, and referring her instead to the DSWD, Angping obviously believes that an
athlete with disability is not a real athlete but is instead a ³welfare´ or charity case.

Should the Aquino administration tolerate the presence of such an ignorant, callous
official in our sports hierarchy? And if he can berate in public an athlete with an obvious
disability, I wonder how Angping treats all other athletes who fall under his authority.

Beyond acting on this specific case (which I hope it will), I also hope the Aquino
administration will use this as an avenue to articulate the President¶s own thinking on the
rights of people with disabilities, and to formulate policies that would best allow the use of
the resources and influence of government to promote the rights of PWDs, not just in the
arena of sports but in all areas of life.

As my friends among the community of the disabled tell me, what they¶re fighting for is
not more privileges or special treatment, but only recognition of their rights as human
beings and citizens. An ³enabling´ environment is all they ask, not more charity or
subsidy. Just give people with disabilities the chance to prove their worth and they will
prove themselves worthy.

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By Rudy Santos (The Philippine Star) Updated January 06, 2010 12:00 AM

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=538481

MANILA, Philippines - Some 10,000 feet up in the air, she navigates the skies using
only her feet.Meet 26-year-old Filipino-American Jessica Macabare Cox, who was born
without arms in Tucson, Arizona and holds the distinction of being the first woman pilot
in aviation history to fly with her feet.

Cox has inspired people worldwide with her story of strength, courage and
determination to rise above her disability.Cox is in town with her parents, Filipina mother
Inez and father William, and brother Jayson for her mother¶s college reunion.

Her mother, who hails from Bobon, Samar, is a registered nurse.³It¶s great to be here
again. I had been to the Philippines when I was 8 years old, when I was 14, one time
when I was in college and in 2004,´ said Cox in an interview yesterday at the Ninoy
Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

³I have always had that desire to go back to the Philippines,´ Cox said.While her mother
attends the reunion, she said she¶ll take time off to go shopping with family and
relatives.³I love everything, anything in Manila. I love to have a pedicure here,´ she
said.³I love Filipino food and my mom cooks it all the time. My favorite is pancit,´ she
said, adding she¶ll stay for two weeks.

Cox said her family has always been supportive of her and never made her feel
inadequate.

³Growing up my dad never thought of me as a victim of my condition. Rather he treated

me just like he treated my brother and sister. Therefore as I grew up, I never once saw
myself as a victim of a birth defect. Rather, I learned different ways of accomplishing all
that I needed to in order to be an independent person. My mother, who is from Samar,
always told me I could do whatever I wanted to do,´ she said.

As a child, she said her mother always put toys by her feet for her to play with and
enrolled her in gymnastics and dance classes when she noticed that she loved to tap
her feet.

It isn¶t any wonder that Cox is a super-achiever despite having no arms.

Everyday she lives life to the fullest - she cooks, eats, washes dishes, curls her own hair
and writes and types with her feet. She also loves to swim, skate and drive a car.

Cox has a degree in psychology from the University of Arizona.

h '(

One of her greatest achievements is to fly a plane.

Cox said she fell in love with flying the first time she tried it.

³I didn¶t always like flying. In fact it was my greatest fear. However, the first time I flew in
an airplane, I was hooked and I haven¶t stopped since,´ she said.

With one foot manning the controls and the other delicately guiding the steering column
of Ercoupe, Cox trained and through sheer determination, got a Sport Pilot Certificate
which qualified her to fly a light sport aircraft to an altitude of 10,000 feet.

Ercoupe is a low-wing monoplane and one of the few airplanes to be made and certified
without pedals. Without rudder pedals, Cox used her feet as hands.

³It wasn¶t easy. I was a little nervous at first, but then I remembered my favorite words of
wisdom, never let fear get in the way of your opportunity,´ she said.

Cox also took three years instead of the usual six months to complete her lightweight
aircraft license, had three flying instructors and practiced 89 hours of flying.

To all the challenges that she surpassed in her life, she credits her supportive family
and strong faith in God.

³God is everything in my life and is always there throughout my challenges. His

presence is even more apparent through the toughest of challenges,´ she said.

For people who feel they can¶t achieve their dreams, Cox has this to say.

³The advice I would give to people with disabilities and anyone is to not allow your
limitations to stand in the way of achievement. Approach your own challenges with
creativity, persistence, and fearlessness. With them, the world of possibilities will open
up to you,´ Cox said. ) % *

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http://www.gmanews.tv/story/154983/Disabled-Filipino-student-wins-US-award

03/31/2009 | 06:07 PM

/c0hc3   - Despite being wheelchair-bound, a disabled Filipino student in

the United States showed that he can still be an achiever.

In an e-mail, Nila Villa-San Pedro of Washington, New Jersey told GMANews.TV the
story of her 18-year-old nephew Bryan Villa who, despite having a disability, still
excelled in his studies and was even recognized for his achievements.

³I thought it would be nice to share the achievement of a young Pinoy with muscular
dystrophy [whose] disease hasn¶t stopped him from winning an award," said San
Pedro.

Muscular dystrophy is a group of hereditary diseases that weakens the muscles that
move the human body.

Villa won in the technology category of the Council for Exceptional Children¶s ³Yes I
can! Awards."

³I just want to share how happy [and] proud we are [of] our nephew Bryan. Isa lang
itong katunayan na ang Pinoy ay may anking katangian « kahit na may kapansanan,"
said San Pedro.

[I just want to share how happy and proud we are [of] our nephew Bryan. This is proof
that Filipinos can still excel despite having disabilities.]

The CEC annually honors 27 students with disabilities who have excelled in specific
categories. The awarding ceremony for this year will take place in Seattle on April 3.

Anna Baker, CEC public relations associate, told the Jersey Journal that the CEC
honors children who have gone ³above and beyond."

³The µYes I Can!¶ Awards were developed to honor students with disabilities who have
achieved great things. Bryan exemplifies the spirit of these awards with his hard work
and perseverance," said CEC President Kathleen Puckett in the report.

When Villa was born in the Philippines, he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. His
family moved to the United States when he was six years old.

Two years later, he started studying at A. Harry Moore School in New Jersey.
³I have learned how to speak out for what I need to complete my goals and become a
mature young man," said Villa in an autobiographical statement.

He reportedly plans to attend the Hudson County Community College and major in
studio art after finishing high school.

After two years, Villa said he wants to transfer to New Jersey City University, major in
graphic design and eventually use his graphic design skills in an advertising career.
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March 9, 2009 in Deaf Video, Famous Filipino Deaf, Technologies,web designing

Tags: Ervin Reyes, web accessibility, Philippine School for the Deaf,Abs-Cbn Upload
2008, 2003 International Abilympics Skills Competition, Abs-Cbn Digital Tour

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Ervin Ruiz Reyes has been the Deaf Coordinator of Manila Christian Computer Institute
for the Deaf (now MCCID College of Technology) for over seventeen years. He
observed that most companies focus on the disablity rather than the capabilities of the
Deaf. They only focus on their ³disability´ and not think of their potential for the progress
of their companies. I won¶t be enumerating the achievements of this very successful yet
humble deaf person. He is A Bronze Medalist in 6th International Abilympics Skills
Competition held in New Delhi, India in November 2003. Ervin competed against top
web designers from more than 32 countries for which he won the bronze medal

³Because of the computer age, it is very sure that the world is getting smaller and
smaller everyday. Communication barriers are slowly being removed. But now, the
biggest problem to the Deaf¶s acceptance into the hearing world is the hearing person
himself.´ ± Ervin Reyes
If these proofs won¶t be enough, then I don¶t know what else to tell. Let his
accomplishments serve as a lliving example for all deaf people out there. God bless, Sir
Ervin! May your tribe increase.

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