The Philippine Federation of the Deaf, Inc. (PFD) is a non-stock. non-profit national federation of Deaf organization in the Philippines. PFD's existence was legitimized upon its registration with the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 26, 1997.
Contents
- MissionVision
- Objectives
- Activities
- Accomplishments
- Current projects
- Filipino Sign Language Book Project
- IssuesControversies
- References
PFD is a national member of the World Federation of the Deaf. The group was founded on October 19, 1996, in a meeting held at the Philippine School for the Deaf where 17 leaders of different Deaf organizations nationwide participated. It was formally established during its 1st General Assembly held at the Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City on May 19, 1997. Members of the assembly, composed of 100 Deaf leaders and Deaf representatives from 15 regions of the country elected its eleven Executive Board composed of Deaf persons for a term of two years from 1997–1999.
PFD's vision list, among other things, empowerment of Deaf people to make them become independent, united, equal and productive members of society; to represent the Deaf groups in national and international meetings/forum and legislative bodies. PFD likewise aims to provide training to its grass-roots self-help Deaf member-organizations specifically on organizational management, community organization, advocacy techniques, leadership training, values formation and other skills necessary for their development.
PFD's activities include close monitoring with government/non-government agencies on the implementation of their basic rights and equalization of opportunities especially on employment to ensure that they are given just and equitable treatment.
Since its inception, PFD has 24 recognized deaf member-organizations within Metro Manila and provinces and expects to increase in number once the requirements for membership have been complied with by other Deaf groups requesting to affiliate with PFD.
Mission/Vision
PFD aims to establish good rapport and partnership among, and between, the member of the Federation, paving the way for their integration into the mainstream society and full equality and participation on all aspects of human endeavor.
It also visualizes improvement of the quality of life among the members of the Federation through self-help and self-reliance in order to become productive citizens and partners in the nation building under the aegis of new horizon and social justice in the future.
Objectives
Serving the Deaf community regardless of creed, socio-economic class, sexual orientation, age, and/or ethnic background, PFD aims to promote the following:
Activities
Philippine Federation for the Deaf has already made:
PFD is also responsible for organizing the following:
Accomplishments
During its existence, PFD has already accomplished the following:
- National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC)
- National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA)
- National Youth Commission (NYC)
Current projects
Among PFD's ongoing projects are:
- Preparation of the "Status Report on the Use of Sign Language" through the National Sign Language Committee (NSLC)
- Documentation of Filipino Sign Language
- Production of practical dictionaries and materials for Filipino Sign Language (parallel partnership with Hong Kong, Vietnam and Cambodia)
Filipino Sign Language Book Project
The National Sign Language Committee (NSLC) began collecting sign language data from the three main islands in the Philippines (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) in 2001. The NSLC through the publication of the "Status Report on the use of Sign Language in the Philippines" by 2004 shall provide baseline data on the use of sign in education, interpreting, isgn instruction and media. The NSLC has been challenged by limitations in funding and other resources. When Dr James Woodward has made a proposal on the development of Asian-Pacific indigenous sign language dictionaries, the gave Filipino Deaf community an opportunity to fulfill the plan of publishing an authentic FSL dictionary.
Dir Gladys Tang from Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) oversees project management the project involving the four countries, and is also local project director for Hong Kong. Dr James Woodward is regional manager and also he is local project director for Vietnam. Fr. Charles Dittemeier is the local project director for Cambodia. The Philippine Federation of the Deaf is responsible for implementation of the project output in Philippines. Marites Raquel Estiller-Corpuz is the only Deaf local project director out of these four countries.
The Project is funded for three years to develop dictionaries and teaching materials as well as a database of sign language data. Six Deaf coordinators are already being trained in sign language analysis, fieldwork and dictionary production. These six Deaf coordinators will be collecting data from regions.
Issues/Controversies
In 2005, a legal issue was raised against Philippine Federation for the Deaf regarding their status as a non-profit foundation. It was registered as a non-stock, non-profit corporation, but its registration was recently revoked after the Securities and Exchange Commission discovered that the PFD had not been filing annual reports.
The PFD had been unable to file an annual report because first, none of the officers knew of the requirement, and second, it could not afford to hire a regular accountant and auditor. As Julius Andrada, president of the foundation, stated in a letter to SEC Chair Fe Barin: “The consequence of our hearing impairment is not just a loss of sound but a loss of access to information.”
In late 2003 though, the PFD was able to secure some project funds that allowed them to hire an accountant, who then prepared a financial report. It was only after the report was filed with the SEC that the foundation’s shortcomings were discovered. As penalty, the PFD was slapped with a fine of P21,000, which it had to pay if it wished to retain its SEC registration.
In letters to Barin, Andrada notes that the PFD "has not had any fixed sources of income for the past six years (and) our only current project is for three years (that) covers contractual employees with fixed terms renewable every six months." The Php21,000 fine, Andrada adds, could be "used for other projects of the Federation which will help Deaf Filipinos."