Accessible transportation with functioning facilities that cater to the unique needs of Persons with Disability are crucial in ensuring equal opportunity and access to basic services for this vulnerable sector. The Commission on Human Rights is deeply concerned that a Person with Disability was seen climbing a high stairway in the LRT Recto Station, as captured in a now viral social media post.

We remind the State of its commitment to uphold the rights of Persons with Disabilities, as embodied in the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, including providing support and creating an environment that will ensure their rehabilitation, self-development, and self-reliance so they may live freely and as independent as possible.

We urge the administration of the LRT and MRT to ensure that all facilities, which cater to the specific needs of Persons with Disability, are properly working. The government should also do the same for all buildings and facilities—public and private—wherein compliance to Batas Pambansa Bilang 344 or the Accessibility Law and other pertinent laws is ensured.

The maintenance of such facilities should always be a priority to genuinely serve the ends of inclusivity and accessibility of vulnerable sectors, which also include senior citizens and pregnant women. CHR hopes that proactive efforts will be done by to give due attention to our countrymen and women who are often overlooked and disadvantaged, especially during this period of crisis. ###