The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic created a global crisis that affected the Philippines. Considering the socio-economic status of persons with disabilities in the Philippines, many households of persons with disabilities declared that they are in need of financial support to handle the crisis that they are facing. In 2016, the Philippine Statistics Authority, in collaboration with the Department of Health and National Council on Disability Affairs conducted the National Disability Prevalence Survey[1]. The report detailed that:
 
a.     12% of the population aged 15 years and older have severe disability[2]
b.     The average household members are 4.5 with 64% belonging to the working age population, 36% are dependents.
c.     The households have lower level of educational attainment (76%) and 9% have at least some college education. Only 15% are able to complete college.
d.     Three out of 5 respondents are working in private establishments or are self-employed without any paid employee[3]. Nineteen percent of the respondents are not working either due to health condition or disability[4].
e.     Of those who are working, about 5% are working in government, 26.1% working in private establishments, 18.8% are self-employed and 38.1% are not working[5].
f.      It also cited that 36% of people with severe disability regularly take medicines[6]. Additionally, 18 percent of people with severe disability need personal assistance[7]. Medicines and personal assistance are some of the necessities in life of persons with disabilities that contributes to economic hardship of the households of persons with disabilities.
 
To have a quick overview of the situation of persons with disabilities, the Center for Disaster Preparedness launched a quick survey accessible through this link: https://bit.ly/2UuOnoq

As of March 27, 2020, the survey was able to collect 2,048 respondents. Out of 11,517 members of households, 2,905 persons with disabilities were identified.  One thousand two hundred eighty-six households declare that they need financial support.

Among the concerns raised by the respondents include: (a) medicines/maintenance medicines (811); (b) therapy (407); (c) accessible transportation (399); (d) personal assistance (290); (e) assistive device (234); (f) psychosocial support (168); (g) hospitalization (163) and, etc. Please note that the team that created the quick survey also received feedback that many people could not access the quick survey because they do not have access to internet to answer the survey.
 
Last March 16, 2020, the Office of the President issued the Memorandum: Community Quarantine Over the Entire Luzon and Further Guidelines for the Management of the COVID-19 Situation. The said memo directed different government bodies to take immediate steps to manage the situation as a result of the ongoing community quarantine. In the statement of the Secretary of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) dated March 17, 2020, DOLE will immediately roll out P180-million emergency employment program under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/ Displaced Workers (TUPAD) for some 18,000 informal workers and P1.3-billion COVID Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) to benefit about 250,000 workers who are displaced because of the community quarantine.

In light of the current situation of persons with disabilities, it is very important for the government to undertake targeted intervention to ensure that households of persons with disabilities receive adequate assistance to manage the economic hardship that persons with disabilities and their households are now experiencing.
 
Thus, we are RECOMMENDING that programmes to ease negative effects of the community quarantine must ensure that households of persons with disabilities are targeted by:
 
1.     Making the information and communication channels accessible and understand able to all persons with disabilities;
2.     Utilising the available data of Persons with Disability ID issued by Local Government Units (LGUs);
3.     Utilising the data of organizations of persons with disabilities, organisations of parents of children with disabilities, and organizations for persons with disabilities to complement the data of the LGUs;
4.     Including all households of persons with disabilities as beneficiaries of cash assistance and should not be lesser than what is provided to the general population;
5.     Including all the households of persons with disabilities in the provision of relief goods or food vouchers provided by the national and local government;
6.     Identifying and including the costs of their other disability-specific needs in the assistance to be provided to them. These needs include medicines/maintenance medicines, therapy, transportation, personal assistance, assistive devices, psychosocial support among others. These additional needs are crucial to mitigating the impact of community quarantine;
7.     Including mask, menstrual, sanitation and hygiene kits in the assistance being provided; and
8.     Undertaking measures to safeguard the households of persons with disabilities to prevent domestic violence, harassment, exploitation, abuses and all forms of gender-based violence.
 

[1]National Disability Prevalence Survey (Model Functioning Survey) 2016, Philippine Statistics Authority
[2]Pp. 23, ibid
[3]Pp. 9-10, ibid
[4]Pp. 13, ibid
[5]Pp. 18, ibid
[6]Pp. 46, ibid
[7]Pp. 44, ibid