BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved a resolution inviting officials of the Cordillera office of the Civil Service Commission (CSC-CAR) or Baguio City field office and the City Human Resource Management Office (CHRMO) to share the development of the 1-percent employment of persons with disabilities in the government agencies and local government unit and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Baguio-Benguet field office as to the employment of PWDs in the private sector.
The resolution authored by all members of the local legislative body states the local government needs to be updated on the latest developments and the compliance of agencies and the city pertaining to the 1-percent employment of qualified PWDs.
The CSC-CAR, DOLE-Baguio-Benguet and CHRMO officials are expected to appear during the regular session of the city legislative body on Monday, October 28, 2019.
The resolution states that Republic Act (RA) 10524, otherwise known as the Act Expanding the Positions Reserved for Persons with Disability, Amending for the Purpose RA 7277,’ was approved on April 23, 2013.
Section 1 of the aforesaid law provides that no person with disability shall be denied access to opportunities for suitable employment and that at least 1 percent of all positions in all government agencies, offices or corporations, shall be served for PWDs.
Further, Section 21, Rule VIII of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 10524 mandates the CSC to monitor the compliance of agencies under its jurisdiction on the requirement of reserving at least 1 percent of all positions for PWDs.
Section 22 of the same rules and regulations provides all government agencies shall submit reports to the CSC relative to its compliance to the said law.
On the other hand, Section 16 of the same rules and regulations mandates the DOLE to monitor the status of implementation of the law in private corporations, especially the 1-percent requirement of all positions to be given to PWDs.
The resolution was approved to aid the city councilors ascertain the legislation needed to strengthen the implementation of the law even in the local level based on the inputs from the CSC, CHRMO and DOLE-Baguio-Benguet representatives when they appear before the City Council to report on the gains of the implementation of the law passed over five years ago.
There is an existing ordinance creating the Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) temporarily lodged with the City Mayor’s Office pending the filling up of the positions designated for qualified PWDs from the city’s barangays.
The PDAO now caters to the needs of PWDs from the different parts of the city, especially on the appropriate interventions from concerned government agencies and city government offices to empower them to become productive citizens of the city and to maximize their skills and knowledge in the different fields.
By Dexter A. See
