Twenty-year-old Paulo Comendador, who was born without a left leg, was among the earliest to arrive at the 3rd floor of the Pacific Mall for Mandaue City’s jobs fair.
He had tried his luck in applying as a service crew in an arcade, but he was turned down several times.
“Mamasin lang ko kay sa kadaghan nako na apply-an ug trabaho, wa pajud ko nadawat sukad,” Comendador said. (I’ll just try my luck. I’ve been unsuccessful in my job hunt ever since.)
Commendador is one of the hundreds who thronged the job fair over the weekend.
He said most potential employers would turn him away outright once they see that he was handicapped.
Commendador at present makes a living by offering massage services, but the money he earns from his venture is not enough to tide him over.
“Mayntag karon madawat na jud ko kay gusto na jud ko makatabang sa akoang mama ug papa,” Comendador said. (I wish I’d get a job as I really wanted to help my parents.)
Comendador’s situation was among the issues raised in the recently concluded World Economic Forum on East Asia (WEF-EA) .
INVISIBLE SECTOR
In the WEF, a Filipino has become the face and voice of the PWDs which is said to be an “invisible sector.”
Rex Adivoso Bernardo, a Young Global Leader fellow from Camarines Norte, asserted before forum delegates the rights of PWDs, laying bare the hardships that people like him have faced in finding decent and quality jobs, amid the many misconceptions and outright discrimination.
“Many businesses don’t give us opportunities to be included in their companies. Only 10 percent of ‘employable’ PWDs are able to find jobs. In the Philippines, it is harder for us to be accommodated in the workplace even if we have skills, as majority of us have been educated. But many companies prefer to hire those without college degrees,” Bernardo said in one of the sessions at the WEF-EA on Friday.
Globally, only a fraction of some 470 million people with disabilities are employed. And the Philippines is no exception.
“More than 80 percent of employable PWDs in the Philippines do not have jobs and for that 20 percent, most of them have menial jobs. The blind, for instance, are being stereotyped as masseurs. For the PWDs who were able to study and finish college, they would aspire for other, better jobs,” Bernardo said in an interview.
EXPERIENCE
“As a person with disability myself, I experienced firsthand that even if we are talented and have [the] skills set, many employers would not give us the chance to prove our worth. And so, they will offer us low-end positions just to accommodate us and then announce that they are providing employment opportunities to the PWD sector. And we are supposed to be grateful and loyal for the opportunity given to us,” said Bernardo, who was afflicted with polio when he was five years old.
The Mandaue City government, in partnership with Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), offered around 1,283 local job vacancies and 4,665 overseas job vacancies.
Musoline Sulliva, City Hall’s public employment services officer, said they offer equal job opportunities for men and women.
“We see a lot of applicants who do not have a college degree so we make sure there are vacancies for high school graduates, Sulliva said in Cebuano.
High school graduates may apply for positions as sales clerks, constructions workers, domestic helpers and others. / with a report by UP Cebu Intern Nina Sayson
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