HUMAN RIGHTS ADVISORY SERIES ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE TIME
OF COVID-19 IN THE PHILIPPINES IN PURSUIT OF THE RIGHTS-BASED
MODEL OF DISABILITY AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE
PHILIPPINES
CHR (V) A2020-009
The Commission on Human Rights issues the instant advisory to expound on the
standards for the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities, taking
into account the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. At the onset, the CHR
recognizes the efforts of both the national and local governments (LGUs) in addressing the
COVID-19 pandemic and intends to further contribute to the policy direction of such efforts
on the basis of the rights-based model of disability.
I. BACKGROUND
Philippine legal framework recognizes
persons with disabilities as rights-holders
The Philippines, through the Magna Carta on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(R.A. No. 7277) enacted in 1992, describes persons with disabilities as those suffering from
restriction or different abilities, as a result of a mental, physical or sensory impairment, to
perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.
Impairment is any loss, diminution or aberration of psychological, physiological, or
anatomical structure or function. As such, Disability means:
a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more psychological,
physiological or anatomical function of an individual or activities of such individual;
a record of such an impairment; or
being regarded as having such an impairment;
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD),
which entered into force on 03 May 2008 does not provide a closed definition of disability. Its
preamble shows that disability is an evolving concept. More so, the Convention reflects a
social model of disability in the sense that it clarifies disability as resulting from the
interaction between persons with impairments and external barriers (i.e., environmental,
institutional, or attitudinal) that hinders their participation in society on an equal basis with
others. In the Philippines, an operational classification i of persons with disabilities that
government applies includes the following:
Communication disability – an impairment in the process of speech, language or
hearing which includes:
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