Lessons learned

The implementation of community lockdown was startling for most LGUs. Communities were poorly prepared for emergency crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. In a country exposed to several hazards, both human-made and natural; health crises of this magnitude are hardly talked about, revealing serious and harrowing realities beleaguering the country’s response capacity and management of health risks. Still, there are lessons to be picked up by different levels of government from the experience, especially the health sector.

Assessing the needs of persons with disability

In any type of hazard or emergency, there must be tools and survey questions that are

readily available to be used for rapid needs assessment of the sectors most vulnerable in

the situation. Simple surveys that pinpoint their immediate needs will provide LGUs clear grasp of the types of support and services they must provide to their most vulnerable constituents. The advantage of IDMS and the availability of data to inform government decisions especially in crisis situations could not be stressed enough. In the data collected from Brgy. Ilaya in Las Piñas City during the tool’s pilot testing, medicines, assistive devices, and therapy are three of the top needs of persons with disability that surfaced. These remained true even during the community

Assistive devices needed by persons with disability in Las Piñas City based on the data from IDMS Pilot Testing Results

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Prosthesis/orthosis Accessible transportation Medical operations Personal assistant Therapy None Assistive devices Medicines/maintenance medicine

quarantine where public transportations were suspended and economic activities stifled. As a result, the need for financial support and accessible transportation increased making it a top priority during the community quarantine.

Data-informed responses

Online data collection tools have greatly helped in acquiring data from various places especially during the lockdown. However, access to the internet remains to be a challenge in a lot of places in the country. Exploring other ways of collecting data during pandemic or lockdowns should also be given careful consideration. There are many tools for data visualization available online. They update instantaneously as answers come in. This enables other local government units, individuals, groups, agencies, or organizations have access to the data being collected for data-informed immediate responses.

Leave no one behind

Using the data collected from the quick survey via web, CDP also launched online petition and sent letters to local chief executives to call for the urgent inclusion of persons with disabilities in their COVID-19 response, in coordination with several organizations working with and for the disability sector. The petition contained specific measures to be undertaken by LGUs to ensure that persons with disabilities and their households are taken into account in the social protection measures.

a. The Listahanan database of the Department of Social Welfare and Development as main source of information of who are persons with disabilities; b. The records of every LGU issuing Persons with

Disability ID cards to complement the database of Listahanan; c. The data of organizations of persons with disabilities, organizations of parents of children with disabilities, and organizations for persons and children with disabilities to complement the database of Listahanan. Given the absence of reliable data to account for persons with disability, basic social services are less likely to reach them; more so during disaster situations.

To ensure that people who are very vulnerable are not left out, communities and local government units must adopt a data management system that would facilitate the accurate, comprehensive, and complete collection of data about them. It’s only through understanding our community’s problems that we are able to see clearly how best to serve them.