Carmen Zubiaga, the Voice of the PWDs
Written By Joel Econas
“The world is not a wish-granting factory.”
I always remember these words from John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars when I listen to people’s advocacies. Indeed, if the world was made up of unicorns and rainbows, then there would be no student demonstrations, no rallies for social equality and human rights, and no clamours by activists to check the government’s excesses. Advocacies, in my opinion, are like one’s favourite clothes; we at least have one in our wardrobes that is waiting to be worn, waiting to be shown to the world as a symbol of our faith in humanity.
Carmen Zubiaga, aspiring to be a senator, is prepared to give persons with disabilities (PWDs), people with visible and non-visible disabilities, in the Philippines a voice in the country’s most important law-making body.
Growing Up
Carmen Zubiaga grew up in a poor family living in a rural area. She was only a year and a half years old when she contracted polio, a viral infection that causes nerve injury leading eventually to paralysis. She then recounted fondly how her parents used to explain her condition:
“If people asked about me, they [her parents] would tell a very interesting story and that made me even more popular in the community. Like if they asked my mother, ‘What happened to your daughter? She’s the only daughter you have.’ She would say, ‘Oh, you know, she got [a] fever for nine days but not [a] really high fever. Then after that, she couldn’t even walk.’ And the way they tell stories, they do it with feelings and expression, so people are very engaged.”
Recalling a time when someone asked Zubiaga’s mother why she wanted her daughter to attend school, her mother — as most Filipino parents always tell their children — replied that Zubiaga, as an individual, must learn how to read and write because it’s what she could “give as a legacy” to her daughter, the gift of education.
Living Past Discrimination and Her Other Advocacies
It’s no secret that the lives of PWDs are worse than most of us. We overlook the fact that even the simplest tasks to us are challenging to them. Their situations are made all the more difficult by the constant degradation that they experience. But Zubiaga is not one to fall under the critical eyes of people. Speaking about her experience when she worked as the executive of the National Council on Disability Affairs along with various NGOs, even the steepest mountains weren’t a hindrance for her to aid her fellow PWDs.
“Only people are giving me limitations on what they see to other persons with disabilities. I worked in Cambodia, which was 20 years backward [in comparison to] the Philippines in terms of accessibility. And I was able to meet and solve some of [the] people’s problems when it comes to their economic condition, about their perspectives, and motivated them to do their best to uplift their own situations. So I think it’s not me who is limiting myself, but it’s people who limit me because of what they see.”
Aside from the PWDs, she’s an advocate of women, especially the battered, and LGBT rights. Zubiaga also considers the youth as the hope of the nation, the ones whose principles will shape the future of our country.
“I used to tell them [the youth] that being good with principle[s] is one of the main passports of success because no person without a value of self-dignity and for others will succeed in life.”
Priority Bills When Elected
In addressing the issue of discrimination in the Philippines, Zubiaga stated that the Anti-Discrimination Law in the country is not enough. So a bill that would provide representation to the marginalized sectors of society such as the PWDs and the LGBT community would be one of her top priorities.
“We need to complement that [Anti-Discrimination Law] with a mechanism that would demand representation of all marginalized groups in local governance so that they can easily assert programs and services that would uplift their conditions.”
She also stressed the need for a National Rehabilitation Act, a legislation that would “lessen the functional limitations of PWDs” to help them live quality lives. Assistive devices such as wheelchairs, she explained, are actually catered to the user’s body, and it would be a nice market for the Philippines to delve into.
“You have to use the wheelchair that is customized for you [so] that you can move and even engage in active activities like sports, other recreational activities, and personal development. But in the Philippines, we don’t have sources for customized wheelchairs. Only one NGO is manufacturing them, which is very expensive.”
Lastly, she would make sure to provide community-based accessibility, which is a concrete plan for her platform of inclusive governance. It would give economic value to the Accessibility Law, a law that assists PWDs through infrastructure requirements and the like, by helping them become productive members of society.
How does her bill achieve that? She plans on creating an accessible environment for schools, government buildings, and tourist destinations. Inclusive education would, in turn, become quality education, allowing these learners to develop themselves and become employable.
“We really need to instill that accessibility is one of the strategies to improve our economy because if we improve education and income generation, then PWDs working will be less dependent on government assistance and, at the same time, they can also contribute to our leaked coffers.”
A Fresh Face in the Senate
It’s not easy to run against established names and political clans that have cemented themselves firmly in the senate. Zubiaga made such a case when she observed how personality politics and even fanaticism run through the Filipino voter. What she does offer, however, are decades of expertise on the issues concerning PWDs, her advocacies on abused women, and the LGBT community.
“I am the very first person with [a] disability to attempt to offer my service as a senator. And what I’m offering now is my skills, my wide knowledge of the issues that we need to address.”
Disability, for Zubiaga, is a cross-cutting issue that penetrates the layers of society. Her main advocacy doesn’t embrace only the issues concerning the PWDs.
“If you think that it’s only about disability, you are wrong. It’s about economics, it’s about education, it’s about political participation, it’s about inclusive governance, and it’s about people who should not be left behind. I can offer a mechanism on how to do it in all areas of concern, and I think nobody except me among the candidates has the capacity to create inclusive policies.”
Giving a voice to her fellow PWDs has been Carmen Zubiaga’s life-long passion. Considering how millions of Filipinos either are born with or have acquired disabilities during their lifetimes, especially with age, it is just right to give them the attention and representation that they need for their lives to improve. The world may not be a wish-granting factory, but there are some people who are generous enough to share their gifts in hopes of turning the world into a more beautiful, hospitable place.
Recommended Song: You Can’t Hurry Love - Phil Collins
Images from Carmen Zubiaga’s Facebook Page
