TO PROMOTE  quality and accessible education for all Filipinos including the deaf, Quezon City 5th District Rep. Alfred Vargas filed a bill seeking to establish a Filipino Sign Language Studies Program.

House Bill 7752 or the proposed Filipino Sign Language Studies Program Act mandates all state universities and colleges to offer college and post-graduate studies relating to the field of Filipino Sign Language and its cultural society, and to offer incentives to students who will take such courses.

Vargas said that the use of sign languages and its equal status to spoken languages was recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Commission on Higher Education, in collaboration with the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, the National Council on Disability Affairs, and concerned higher education institutions, will formulate the rules and regulations for this measure.

“Education and sign language are important elements in eliminating barriers to inclusivity and setting the foundations for the integration of persons who are deaf into mainstream society,” Vargas said.

The UN Convention obligates its member states, including the Philippines, to facilitate the learning of sign language and promote linguistic identity of the deaf community.

In line with the government’s commitment to create an enabling environment for persons with disability, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act 11106 declaring the Filipino Sign Language as the national sign language of the Filipino Deaf Community.