News Update Strong support for barrier-free tourism urged

CEBU CITY - Even if most of the new buildings here already have ramps for persons with disabilities (PWDs), Adela Kono, President of the Avila Foundation, along with the Organization of Rehabilitation Agencies (ORA) is urging stronger support for barrier-free tourism.

Kono said the strong support for barrier-free tourism will give PWDs a chance to move freely in public places as they will be provided with such basic infrastructure as accessible public transport and standard rail ways, among others.

"Barrier-free tourism is also expected to attract more foreign retirees to visit the country provided that our facilities here are friendly to them," she said.

However, Kono lamented that majority of the buildings here are still not compliant with Batas Pambansa 344 or the Accessibility Law.

In a recent forum hosted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Central Visayas to mark National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week, Kono bared that 90 percent of buildings here are not PWD-friendly. "Most of the new buildings may have ramps but they don't have curve cuts which defeats its very purpose," she said.

Kono, who also spearheads this city's committee that monitors implementation of the Accessibility Law added that aside from providing ramps, building owners should also follow specific rules for toilet rooms like the installation of standard grab bars.

Moreover, she also stressed that the law itself should be amended as it lacks important features like standard configuration of toilet rooms, pedestrian bridges, and other important basic infrastructure crucial for older people and PWDs.

Kono also pointed out that the law does not even have implementing rules and regulations on how to design bath showers, a lack that has caused several bathroom accidents involving PWD in Cebu.

She asked both government and the private sector to come up with a solid plan for a barrier-free environment