Recently, some troubling stories in Davao involving teenagers with special needs have been shared. One incident was with an adolescent with global developmental delay (GDD) who took a “humpback” tricycle he was fascinated with home not realizing he was committing a crime. Police arrested him without knowing his condition.
Another incident involved a teenager with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who left his house in the middle of the night and was found wandering along Diversion Road by himself. From a distance, he looked suspicious to the police so he was taken into custody.
There are enough of these stories in the city to raise concern. So Councilor Antoinette “Petite” Principe took the initiative of engaging the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) to promote awareness and build the capacity of police personnel in responding to people with special needs, especially children and adolescents.
Councilor Petite asked the help of the Rotary Club of Downtown Davao (RCDD) through its club president, Police Lt. Col Andrea dela Cerna, to conduct the first ever training for key police officers who deal with children and other individuals in the community on a regular basis.
Davao City Police Director Police Colonel Peter B. Madria responded positively and gathered at least 40 police officers from the Women and Children Protection Units and those who patrol our city streets from every police station last April 22, 2026, Wednesday, for the entire afternoon at Sandigan Hall, Camp Domingo Leonor, Davao City.
“I express my deep appreciation to the Rotary Club of Downtown Davao and to Councilor Antoinette Principe for initiating this relevant and strategic capacity training for police personnel,” started City Director (CD) Madria in his speech delivered at the opening program, where he also declared his “unwavering commitment to fostering more partnerships of this nature.”
He also noted how this training came at an “opportune moment, as the police force now operates within a more strengthened and dynamic framework of community-based policing, where officers are expected to enforce the law while understanding the realities faced by vulnerable members of society.”
Indeed, the problem in dealing with individuals with special needs in the context of policing is not malicious officers but systematically underprepared ones. Oftentimes it just stems from a failure to recognize disability when it matters most.
Although the rate of autism diagnoses has quadrupled over the past two decades, explicit training for law enforcement on how to respond to people with intellectual or developmental disabilities remains rare. There is a critical gap in training and specific instruction on how to recognize and communicate with individuals who have hidden disabilities. The result is a system where police officers are forced to improvise when they should be applying evidence-based practices.
As Councilor Petite said: “Not all behaviors are what they seem. In many real-life situations, particularly in the field of law enforcement, actions that may appear as defiance, resistance, or suspicious behavior may in fact be manifestations of developmental conditions. Without proper awareness, these situations may escalate unnecessarily, placing both the individual – children or otherwise – and the responding officer at risk.”
Developmental pediatrician, Dr. Ferriza Maria A. Isaguirre, one of the resource speakers, noted that this might be the first time this kind of training was conducted with the police not just in Davao, but in the entire country.
Her fellow resource speakers — developmental pediatrician Dr. Jeanne Mae A. Fortuna; occupational therapist Josef Bareng; and speech and language therapist Davilin Quilantang — agreed with Dr. Isaguirre and hoped that this will just be the beginning of many collaborations with the police.
As of June 2025, 2.5 million Filipinos are registered Persons with Disabilities (PWD). This includes physical disabilities, psychosocial disabilities, and invisible conditions like autism or learning disabilities. Many capable officers are still not prepared to handle situations involving them because that requires specific training.
Davao City aims to be one of the first local government units to respond to this challenge. Councilor Petite is already working on local legislation mandating special needs-focused de-escalation training, establishing local PWD police liaison units, and developing accessible communication protocols.
We can modify our 911 system with a dedicated mental health desk and ensure that police stations have effective communication tools for those who are deaf or non-verbal.
We can also create a voluntary PWD registry for emergency responders. This enables families or caregivers to voluntarily register a person’s condition, needs, and emergency contacts with the local police station.
On the national level, we can also push for a “Special Needs Sensitivity in Law Enforcement Act” that will mandate a holistic approach to community policing that includes people with special needs.
A comprehensive legislative agenda for inclusive community policing should include at least four pillars: (1) mandatory initial and continuing evidence-based training on recognizing and responding to individuals with autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities, sensory impairments, and mental health conditions; (2) voluntary disability registries that must be accessible to responding officers during a call, giving them advance knowledge that can prevent catastrophic misunderstandings; (3) co-responder programs and specialized liaison officers specifically trained to support the disability community in accessing police services; and (4) community advisory councils that include individuals with disabilities, family members, and advocacy organizations ensuring that lived experience informs training, protocols, and accountability measures.
Without legislation to compel our law enforcement to do this, our most vulnerable citizens will remain trapped in a cycle of fear and misunderstanding. Without training laws, tragic police encounters involving children and individuals with disabilities will keep happening.
We need protective legislation, not reactive lawsuits filed after a tragedy has already scarred a family forever.
Inclusive community policing is a right. Individuals with special needs are not threats to be subdued but citizens to be served. Our laws must reflect that truth — not just as an aspiration, but as a daily operational reality.
