The House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations has approved a substitute bill declaring the Filipino Sign Language as the national sign language of deaf Filipinos and the official sign language of the government in all transactions involving the deaf.
The committee, led by Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, approved the funding provision of the bill as spelled out in its Section 15 after which it passed the measure in its entirety.
The initial funding for the proposed “The Filipino Sign Language Act” will be taken from the current year’s appropriations of concerned government agencies. Thereafter, the amount necessary for its continued implementation will be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
The bill, authored by ACT Teachers Psarty-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, declares as a State policy to take all appropriate measures to ensure the Filipino deaf can exercise the right to expression and opinion. Accordingly, the State recognizes and promotes the use of sign languages embodying the specific cultural and linguistic identity of the Filipino deaf.
The bill declares the Filipino Sign Language as the national sign language of the Philippines. The FSL will be recognized, promoted and supported as the medium of official communication in all transactions involving the deaf, and as the language of instruction of deaf education without prejudice to the use of other forms of communication depending on individual choice or preference.
The Department of Education, the Commission on Higher and Technical Education, the Technical Educational Education and Skills Development Authority and all other national and local government agencies involved in the education of the deaf are tasked to henceforth use the FSL as the medium of instruction in the education of the deaf.
Similarly, the FSL will be the official language of legal interpreting for the deaf in all public hearings, proceedings and transactions of the courts, quasi-judicial agencies and other tribunals. They will ensure the availability of a qualified sign-language interpreter in all proceedings involving the deaf, and without prejudice to the right of the deaf to choose other forms or modes of communication if they so prefer.
The FSL will also be the official language of the deaf employed in the civil service and in all government workplaces. All government offices will take reasonable measures, including the conduct of awareness and training seminars on the rationale and use of the FSL, to encourage its use among the deaf and hearing-impaired government employees.
In the health system, state hospitals and all health facilities will ensure access of the Filipino deaf to health services, including the free provision of FSL interpreters and accessible materials upon the request of deaf patients or individuals who have deaf family members.
The FSL also will be used as the medium of official communication in all other public transactions, services and facilities.
The FSL will be the language of broadcast media interpreting. The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board will, within one year from the effectivity of the Act, require FSL interpreter insets, compliant with accessibility standards for television, in news and public affairs programs.
