services and benefits shall be expanded beyond the traditional urban-based centers to community based programs, that will ensure full participation of different sectors as supported by national and local government agencies.  The State also recognizes the role of the private sector in promoting the welfare of persons with disabilities and shall encourage partnership in programs that address their needs and concerns.  To facilitate integration of persons with disabilities into the mainstream of society, the State shall advocate for and encourage respect for persons with disabilities. The State shall exert all efforts to remove all social, cultural, economic, environmental and attitudinal barriers that are prejudicial to persons with disabilities. iii Specific for women with disabilities, the 2009 Magna Carta of Women (R.A. No. 9710) has emphasized the principles of non-discrimination on the basis of gender and disability and obligates the State to support women with disabilities on a community-based social protection scheme. It is quite important to reiterate the existence of the aforesaid State policies and remind the duty-bearers that persons with disabilities should be allowed to participate in programming the State's response during the existence of public health emergency as brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lived experiences of persons with disabilities would provide useful insights to the managers of this crisis in designing a genuinely accessible approach, and to be mindful of how different vulnerabilities further exacerbate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the realization of human rights. Hence, this advisory puts emphasis, first and foremost, on the need for inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in government decision-making, in recognition of their character as rights-holders particularly during this crisis, and put in place appropriate responses that take into account multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities. The Rights-Based Model of Disability The rights-based model begins with the premise that impairment is a natural aspect of human diversity that government has a responsibility to take into consideration in preparing and implementing all its plans and programs. In doing so, their rights must never be perceived as welfare services by the government, as clearly pointed out in R.A. 7277, Section 2(b). Expounding on the rights-based model, Degener (2014) wrote: “Human dignity is the anchor norm of human rights. Each individual is deemed to be of inestimable value and nobody is insignificant. People are to be valued not just because they are economically or otherwise useful but because of their inherent self-worth. … The human rights model focuses on the inherent dignity of the human being and subsequently, but only if necessary, on the person’s medical characteristics. It places the individual centre stage in all decisions affecting him/her and, most importantly, locates the main ‘problem’ outside the person and in society.”iv The rights-based model has been reflected in the UNCRPD by highlighting the States Parties' recognition and adherence to the human rights standardsv of:     Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons; Non-discrimination; Full and effective participation and inclusion in society; Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human 3