in society. Social stigmatization and traditional attitudes towards persons with disabilities remains deeply embedded in Philippine society. It is currently prevalent among teachers, school authorities, local authorities, communities and even families, which reinforces exclusion of learners with disabilities, and clearly hinder their inclusion. As one parent shared in the FGD, “Hindi tinanggap ang anak ko sa SPED school dahil malikot daw. Ang tinatanggap lamang nila ay ang mababait na bata.” While the Zero Rejection Policy requires all schools and educational institutions to accept any enrollees, including those with disabilities, there are still cases where persons with disabilities are rejected by educational institutions due to absence of appropriate built-in environment or devices that would address their needs. Bullying of persons with disabilities is still prevalent in schools discouraging them from attending classes. The presence of a safe environment and culture of acceptance is important to increase attendance of persons with disabilities in schools. As parents of children with disability shared in the FGD, “May mga nag-bu-bully na mga classmates. Ang mga bata na gustong (ganadong) pumasok sa eskwela, pero dahil sa treatment sa kanila ng mga ka-klase ay nawawalan ng gana na pumasok dahil sa pangangant‟yaw – ito ang isang barrier kung bakit hindi sila naka-pasok.” “The child was enthusiastic to go to school. However, the classmates would often tease the child, thus, was eventually discourage to attend classes.” Persistent gender stereotypes to prioritize education of men The belief that men are the head of the household and breadwinner of the family leads to de-prioritization of women with disabilities’ education. Given the high prevalence of poverty among families of persons with disabilities, if a choice has to be made between sending a boy or a girl to school, the boy will usually be given precedence. While women with disabilities themselves believe they can also provide food for their family, their parents think otherwise, who strongly believe that women’s primary role is to stay in the house and look after the family. The following were some of the sentiments shared by women with disabilities in the FGD, “Ang treatment ng ibang tao sa mga babae ay kailangan ang lalaki ang mauunang pagaaralin kasi iyon ang may kakayahang magbigay ng pagkain sa pamilya. Hindi naman nila alam kung ano ang kakayahan ng mga babae, na kaya rin ng babae ang ginagawa ng mga lalaki, na kaya rin buhayin ng mga babae ang kanilang pamilya.” 8