Villar: Stop bashing of lame, deaf

Senate President Pro-tempore Manuel Villar has filed a measure that seeks to prohibit the negative potrayal of persons with disabilities in movies, television, stage, and other forms of mass media.

The bill on "The Media Protection for the Disabled Act," Villar said seeks to promote respect for the dignity of persons with disabilities.

"They must not be the receiving end of sick jokes in various forms of mass media or elsewhere," he said. "It is done in bad taste when others are made to laugh at the expense of those who have disabilities. It sends the wrong values to the public."

Eliciting laughter, he stresssed must not be made at the expense of the blind, deaf, crippled, hairlipped, and amputated among others.

Villar cited the Magna Carta for the Disable (RA 7277) to incorporate the disabled into the mainstream of society.

"If we are to do this and if we are really sincere in helping them, then we should stop ridiculing the disabled and start accepting them as persons with dignity," he said.

Villar has also filed a companion measure to give added benefits to persons with disabilities. This includes discounts in various retail establishments as well as providing free medical and dental services in government hospitals and health institutions.

The penalty for those who will violate the proposed law is imprisonment of not more than six months and/or, a fine not exceeding five thousand pesos.