Shared responsibility: DepEd told it can't help special needs children alone

MANILA, Philippines — House members frustrated over the stalled implementation of a landmark law for children with disabilities two years since its passage have urged the Department of Education to demand other agencies’ help in carrying out the law.

During the House basic education committee’s hearing on Monday, Rep. Roman Romulo, who chairs the panel, said DepEd alone cannot set up full-fledged learning centers for learners with disabilities in every locality, as required by Republic Act 11650, due to the shortage of health professionals who can assess children with special needs. 

RA 11650 or the Inclusive Education Act was signed into law in March 2022. It mandates that all municipalities/cities should have at least one Inclusive Learning Resource Center (ILRC) – a physical or virtual one-stop-shop providing special needs students with learning support and free therapy services. 

Compared to regular special education (SPED) schools, ILRCs are supposed to go beyond the education of children with disabilities by having a team of health specialists and therapists ready to diagnose and monitor those with special needs. 

For this reason, the law assigns specific roles to agencies besides the DepEd, the lead implementing agency. It tasks:

Three years since its passage, DepEd officials told Romulo that it has yet to finalize RA 11650’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) and the five-year roadmap that will realize the government’s ambitious dream of having one ILRC in every locality, which typically hits a snag due to funding and personnel issues.

“There are things that DepEd should not be shouldering on its own. That is why there is the DOH, LGUs and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),” Romulo said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“We need to involve experts from different departments. Teachers should primarily just be teaching and not assessing (children with disabilities),” Romulo added. 

Due to the small number of development pediatricians in the country, DepEd Director Leila Areola admitted to relying on the help of LGUs to assess students with disabilities — findings of which are required before they can enroll in SPED schools.

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