27/09/2025
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ญ
The PWD raises its voice today not merely in indignation, but in a profound lament for a nation betrayed. The PWDs who wake each morning to the grind of survival, strongly and unequivocally condemn corruption. Corruption is not a technical issue of missing digits in an audit report. It is a wound that bleeds through the daily lives of the PWD sector. Every peso stolen is a wheelchair never bought, a therapy session cut short, a child with cerebral palsy left without proper care. Corruption is the killer of opportunity. It steals not only money but time, health, and hope.
During the tenure of our own PPDAO Head Miriam Acosta-Llanos, who made history as the first elected President of the League of PDAOโs of the Philippines, she stood before the house to advocate for PWDs. Again and again, they responded with a weary refrain: there is a lack of budget... Yet today we learn of billions siphoned off into ghost projects and padded contracts, trillions recklessly borrowed. There was never a lack of funds, there was only a surplus of greed. But what do we see today? Billions gone. Trillions in public debt incurred with little to show. The cruel truth has been exposed: there was never a lack of money, only a lack of honesty and moral will....
Sa bawat pagdinig sa Senado, sa bawat bigkas ng mga perang nawawala, ang mga mukha ng mga nahihirapang kasamahan naming PWDs ang aming nakikita. Pwede naman pala silang hindi maghirap. Pwede naman pala silang matulungan. Hindi mahirap ang Pilipinas. The Philippines is not poor, it is plundered. Those billions that disappeared into fraudulent projects and padded contracts could have built accessible schools, funded therapy centers, and provided a national Disability Support Allowance. Instead, they lined the pockets of officials who treat the nationโs coffers like their personal vault. Maawa naman kayo.
For PWDs, corruption is a daily assault. It means a blind student cannot find textbooks in Braille. It means a mother must carry her wheelchair-bound child across busy roads because there are no ramps. It means an amputee skips meals to buy medicine. It means a skilled worker is turned away because employers will not invest in workplace accessibility. These are not accidents of fate, they are the direct result of stolen funds and broken promises.
The numbers are staggering: billions gone, trillions borrowed. But behind those numbers are stories of human pain. Think of the child with autism who could thrive with early intervention, but whose family cannot afford therapy. Imagine the deaf youth who dreams of college but cannot find an interpreter. Picture the elderly man who waits months for a prosthetic limb while corrupt officials feast on banquets bought with public money. Corruption is not just theft, it is violence that cripples lives and futures.
Consider what those lost billions could have accomplished:
1. A nationwide Social Pension for PWDs, guaranteeing a modest but vital monthly income to those who cannot work.
2. Accessible transportation networks that make travel safe and affordable for wheelchair users and the visually impaired.
3. Comprehensive rehabilitation centers in every province/city, offering therapy, counseling, and job training.
4. Assistive technology programs to provide hearing aids, prosthetics, and adaptive devices to those in need.
Instead, those billions were siphoned off to ghost projects and overpriced contracts, feeding the insatiable greed of the corrupt. Every luxury car bought with stolen funds is a childโs therapy denied. Every overseas bank account padded with public money is a social pension withheld from a grandmother with a disability.
Corruption dehumanizes. It tells a wheelchair user that mobility can wait. It tells a stroke survivor that rehabilitation is optional. It tells an entire sector of society that their lives are expendable. This is not simply mismanagement, it is moral rot, a betrayal of the nationโs most fundamental values.
The PWD sector, do not ask for charity. We demand justice and equality. Pass the long-delayed Social Pension for Persons with Disabilities. Allocate funds to make public infrastructure truly accessible. Invest in education and employment programs that recognize our talents and contributions. These are not favors. These are rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
We have seen and heard that billions of pesos originally allocated for the flood-control project will now be reallocated to AICS, PAMANA, 4Ps, and we pray that at least a portion will reach children with disabilities. These funds must go to those who need them most: the defenseless, the voiceless, the truly deserving. Alalahanin ninyo naman kami.
This is not a plea for charity, it is a demand for justice. Every peso redirected from massive infrastructure must be spent with absolute transparency, genuine compassion, and a clear moral purpose. Children with disabilities endure a double burden: scarce access to healthcare, therapy, and education, and even difficulty obtaining proper nutrition. Their parents struggle every single day just to provide lifeโs essentials. Timely and adequate government assistance can mean the difference between a child receiving early-intervention therapy or living a lifetime of preventable limitations.
When public-safety funds are diverted to other programs, strict safeguards must be established to ensure that the most vulnerable are served first. There must be clear guidelines, and active citizen oversight so that every peso truly uplifts lives, not merely inflates statistics. From the remotest barangay, families of children with special needs, elderly persons with disabilities, and households living below the poverty line must see real, measurable support.
Let these billions become a lifeline for those who cannot march in the streets or raise their voices in protest. Use them to provide assistive devices, wheelchairs, hearing aids, prosthetics. Build inclusive classrooms and fully accessible community centers where children can learn, play, and dream without barriers. Fund therapies and rehabilitation programs, scholarships, and livelihood opportunities that will empower children with disabilities and their families to live independently.
Investing in inclusion is true nation-building. It strengthens the workforce by preparing children with disabilities to become skilled, productive adults. It lifts families from crushing medical costs and opens doors to education and employment. It sends a message that the Philippines values every life, not only those who can shout the loudest or contribute the most to the economy.
May this reallocation be more than a fleeting political headline. Let it stand that our government sees, hears, and values every Filipino, especially those society too often overlooks. Real progress is never measured by the height of a bridge or the length of a highway, but by how faithfully we protect and nurture our most fragile citizens.
If these billions are used wisely and justly, they will not merely fill budget lines; they will build a future where no child with a disability is left behind, no family is abandoned, and no Filipino is made to feel invisible in their own homeland.
To the leaders of this nation: stop stealing the future. Every bribe accepted, every contract padded, every project faked is a direct assault on people who already bear the heaviest burdens. End the cycle of theft and excuses. Restore to the people, especially the most vulnerable - what you have taken.
To our fellow Filipinos: corruption thrives in silence. Your outrage matters. Your vote matters. Your refusal to accept โbusiness as usualโ matters. Understand that every act of graft is a meal stolen from a hungry child with a disability, a wheelchair delayed for a young man who longs to work, a therapy session denied to a stroke survivor fighting to walk again.
To our brothers and sisters with disabilities: know that you are not powerless. Our voices are growing louder. Our resolve is unbreakable. We will continue to fight for accessibility, for genuine inclusion, and for the dignity that is our birthright. The billions stolen will not silence us.
The Provincial PDAO of Zamboanga del Sur stands united with PWDs across the nation in declaring: enough is enough. We condemn corruption. We condemn the crocodiles who plunder the nationโs wealth. We condemn the leaders who enrich themselves while our people suffer. We will continue to fight for every peso that rightfully belongs to the people and for a Philippines where disability is never a sentence to poverty.
Pwede naman pala. Our country has the resources. What it lacks is the honesty and courage to place those resources where they are needed most. We demand that courage now. End corruption. Fund inclusion. Give what is due to us.
