VILLAR PUSHES FOR INCREASED AWARENESS OF CEREBRAL PALSY

Senate President Manny Villar, President of the Nacionalista Party, filed Senate Bill 2462 designating the month of September as 'Cerebral Palsy Awareness and Protection Month' in order to promote increased public awareness and support to the most common disorder that affects children and adults in the world.

Cerebral Palsy is commonly defined as a non-progressive condition or chronic disorder that impairs control of movement and usually appears during the first few years of life, thus mostly affecting children.

"It is said that one out of every 1,000 children born has cerebral palsy. Thus, here in our country, with around 80 million in population, this easily translates to 80,000 children, which to me is already an alarming level. The least we can do is to increase awareness of this disorder and support Filipinos afflicted with it," cites Villar.

Based on the data from non-government organization Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc. (PCPI), there are over 300,000 Filipinos afflicted with cerebral palsy all over the country, majority of which have no access to medical facilities for the treatment and alleviation of this condition.

According to PCPI: "There is no government program that deals exclusively with the problem of cerebral palsy despite its probable prevalence. There are no public information programs that educate the people about it and how it can be prevented. Neither are they educated on the risk factors and what can be done for children with cerebral palsy. There are also no provisions, vocational programs, facilities or homes for continued care of moderate to severely involved children with cerebral palsy, more so for adults."

"At this time, cerebral palsy cannot be cured, but to medical research, many patients can enjoy near-normal lives if their neurological problems are properly managed. This bill will raise the state of awareness and concern of the public to those afflicted with the disorder," further cites Villar on his bill.

Villar's bill entrusts the Department of Health (DoH) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to facilitate the programs and activities for the observance of the 'Cerebral Palsy Awareness and Protection Month'.

On its third year now, the DepEd as a member of the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP), has been observing September 16 to 22 as Cerebral Palsy Week. Its theme this year is Cerebral Palsy: Talino at Kakayahan Ipamalas sa Lipunan, Tagumpay ay Makakamtan.