The Magna Carta for Persons with Disability and the Accessibility Law of 1983 both seek to ensure that public spaces, including educational institutions, are accessible to persons with disabilities through structural features, such as ramps, elevators and railings. However, almost three decades after the passage of the law, accessibility features in school buildings are still lacking. In 2015, an accessibility audit of 20 buildings in the University of the Philippines –the country’s national state university, showed that most structures, whether built before or after the law, fails to comply with the accessibility law. The buildings lack accessibility features for persons with disabilities, particularly ramps, signages, accessible restrooms and designated parking spots.2 The condition of school facilities is even more dismal in the provinces where accessibility features in school buildings are often non-existent. As shared by women with disabilities in the FGDs, the lack of accessibility features results to tardiness or absences in classes due to difficulty in moving from one classroom to another. In many cases, persons with disabilities are left to wait until assistance arrives. “Pagkatapos noon, pumunta ako ng Maynila. Nagpakabit ako ng artificial bago ako nakapagpatuloy ng pag-aaral. Nahirapan din ako kasi ‘yong school namin is hanggang tatlong palapag. Nahaihirapan akong mag-panik panaog. Lagi akong huli sa klase.” “Ang problem naming mga wheelchair-bound na PWD – ay ang accessibility ng school. Minsan ang admin ay nasa 2nd floor kapag nag-enroll pupunta pa sa 2nd floor, tapos kami naka-wheelchair. Kung isang PWD lamang naman – ito ay hindi baba-baan, matagal na oras pa bago pansinin at kailangan ulit-ulitin.” “The admin is in the second floor, and it’s a struggle during enrolment. Because there is only one PWD, they will not immediately go down and attend to your needs. They will let you wait for a long time. You need to repeatedly bug them to get their attention.” As revealed in the FGDs, SPED schools are not evenly distributed across cities and provinces. There are also more privately managed SPED schools, which makes it difficult for women with disabilities coming from poor backgrounds to access education. The lack of nearby schools which can cater to their needs discourages them from pursuing education especially for women with disabilities located in rural areas. With poverty pervasive among women with disabilities, distance of residence from school is important consideration for studying due to expensive transportation cost. 2 Padayon U.P. para sa P.W.D.: An investigative study on the admission and accessibility of the University of the Philippines Diliman for persons with disabilities, http://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph/flipbook/viewer/?fb=2010-18626Jhesset-#page-1 6