Lubos na pasasalamat po kina Mrs. Carmen Reyes-Zubiaga, President of WOWLEAP Inc. & Lead Convenor of Disability PH Summit; Ate Cora Clarin, Chairperson of the CBM Advisory Board; ComSec Maria Asuncion “Chona” Capulong Del-Valle of the House Special Committee on Persons with Disabilities; Ms. Karla Henson, Executive Director of Life Haven Center for Independent Living, at sa lahat ng nakasama natin sa makahulugang pagtitipon na ito para palakasin ang ating laban para sa karapatan at kapakanan ng mga persons with disabilities (PWDs).

Kapag napag-uusapan ang espasyo para sa mga PWDs, ang unang naiisip natin ay ramps, sign language interpreters, accessible restrooms, or focal persons in offices. And yes, those are necessary. Pero ang tunay na inklusyon ay hindi nagsisimula sa imprastraktura. Nagsisimula po ito sa pakikinig, sa pagbibigay ng espasyo para sa kanilang boses, sa pagtiyak na napakikinggan sila, at nararamdaman at napapakinabangan nila ang mga programa ng ating gobyerno.

As a mother and grandmother to a son and grandson on the autism spectrum, I know what it means to face a system that does not listen. A system that dismisses even the experts, the lived experiences of parents, teachers, caregivers, and most importantly, persons with disabilities themselves. That is why this fight is deeply personal to me.

Ours in the ML Partylist is a conviction that our disability agenda must be personal, consultative, and unrelenting. We pledge to champion the mandatory participation of PWDs across all levels of government, to mainstream disability inclusion in crises management, disaster preparedness and development planning, to push for inclusive budgeting where accessibility is a baseline standard, and to support candidates with disabilities as leaders in their own right.

This is what social justice is. Ito po ang tunay na hustisyang panlipunan—kung saan ang bawat mamamayan ay namumuhay sa isang lipunang patas, malaya, at may dignidad.