03/12/2025
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ
There are certain limits to being humanโwe all carry forms of vulnerabilities and weaknesses. But some bear far greater limits than others, and their limitations should not deny them the same chance at a full and meaningful life. Disabled people donโt have to earn a good quality of lifeโit is something they already have a right to, just like everyone else.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 10% of Filipinos are Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). Thatโs 9.2 million Filipinos who struggle with day-to-day activities. When we look through the lens of a PWD, we realize how much of society was built without them in mind. Physical spaces are often cramped, with corridors and doorways too narrow for wheelchairs. For those with cognitive or mental deficits, there are rarely enough safe, supportive environments where they can feel comfortable. That is the harsh reality that every PWD endures, not entirely because of their disability, but because of societyโs neglect.
As Tom Shakespeare, a social scientist, bioethicist, and as a disabled person himself, argues, we should โmake a world that can include everyone, regardless of their differences, as vulnerable to impairment and illness.โ
I believe that society excludes them and their disabilities in subtle, often unnoticed ways. We can see this with how casually we use derogatory terms like โabnoyโ or โabnormal,โ and how we let these language pass us by. Even without intending to hurt, you have already pierced someone who hears you, through your words.
Although accessibility and cure are important, it is ultimately society that helps disabled persons get through despite their deficits. Philosopher Eva Feder Kittay emphasized this, writing that โsome disabled people will not benefit much from disability rights, but will benefit hugely from the support and caring solidarity of others.โ When we focus too heavily on prevention, some disabled peopleโespecially those with lifelong conditions may feel anxious, devalued, or even hopeless.
We shouldnโt fixate on what canโt be changed, instead, we must focus on how we can support them with dignity and compassion. This is our real task. If we canโt do that, the problem is not the disability or conditionโitโs us.
What many disabled people value more than accessibility is a world that rejects individualism. When we listen to disabled communities, we begin to understand that we are all interdependentโthat support, care, and community are a two-way exchange. In observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we must recognize that none of us reaches our goals alone; it is through the helping hand of others that we become more fulfilled and happy.
To realize a world that can include everyone is to abandon individualism. We must not always think of ourselves, because life only becomes extraordinary when compassion and community carry us all.
Words: Giann Faye Zuniega
