- Davao City PWD office pushes for audit team to enforce law
THE CITY’S Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) is pushing for the full establishment of an accessibility audit team to ensure structural compliance with the Accessibility Law among public and private establishments.
Paul Egbert Quirequire, PDAO social work associate, said they audited establishments before, but it was not sustained, so they are pushing to create an audit team.
In line with this, PDAO will collaborate with the Office of the City Building Official, the City Engineer’s Office, and the Department of Public Works and Highways, and other government agencies.
“We are creating an accessibility audit team in the near future. It’s still in its infancy stage of planning because we are in a crisis, and it requires collaboration with the OCBO and DPWH,” Quirequire said during the iSpeak media forum on Aug. 13.
While structural evaluation is already part of the building permit process, he emphasized the need for direct representation in inspecting facilities to correct faulty implementations.
The official noted that some buildings may have wheelchair ramps but are poorly designed, which poses a hazard to PWDs.
“There are establishments where a ramp was checked, but it’s too steep, or there’s a ramp, but right at the exit, there’s a post. It was done just for the sake of compliance,” he said.
The audit team plans to prioritize government offices, schools, and public structures first to set an example before conducting random inspections on private establishments.
He noted that the initiative focuses on partnerships and education rather than punitive measures to raise awareness among developers or engineers and make Davao City fully accessible.
The office is also pushing for its inclusion in the signatories for building and construction permits to ensure compliance.
“We are pushing in the near future that the PDAO office will be included, similar to fire permits, as one of the signatories when new establishments are constructed, as our advocacy principle is ‘Nothing about us without us,’” the official explained.
Nonetheless, while the official lauded the city’s initiatives, such as talking elevators to benefit the visually impaired, he emphasized the need for more inclusive spaces for PWDs.
