PCCED-Bacolod City empowers PWDs “to find their political voice”

“We need to organize in order for us to develop a political voice.” This was the consensus among leaders of the various Persons with Disability (PWDs) organizations who joined the workshop organized by the Philippine Center for Civic Education and Democracy (PCCED) in cooperation with the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod (USLS).

In two separate forums, the PWD leaders received training on civic education, basic organizational development, and proposal writing. The participants came from the cities of Bacolod, Silay and La Carlota. They first received training on how to draft their by-laws and constitutions, crafting provisions on election of officers and the functions of the different officers. Last March 2, 2016, they joined a workshop on writing a proposal.

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PCCED Board of Trustees member, Professor Virgilio Aguilar, who is a PWD himself and who advises the PWD groups, explained that while there are some organized PWD groups there is still a big gap in their organizational capacities. “We need to empower them so they acquire the capacity to participate in the democratic process.”

Aguilar also said that PCCED, with its new office inside the USLS campus, will continue the partnership with the PWD group in terms of helping them in organization development, resource mobilization and advocacy work..