Department of Education(DepEd)

Dear Sir/Ma’am, I would like to request for the copies of utilization report and the UACS for Php100 million budget for instructional materials for learners with disabilities from 2010 to 2016 respectively. The said program is in line with DO 49, s. 2010 – Guidelines for the Supply, Allocation, Delivery, and Distribution of Centrally Procured Instructional Materials for the Special Education Program at the Basic Education Level. I wish to receive the said document in MS Word and Excel formats. Thank you. Sincerely, Shiela May I. Aggarao

To Whom It May Concern: This is Shiela May I. Aggarao, a gender and disability rights advocate and a woman with visual impairment. Presently, I’m part of the project team of Life Haven Center for Independent Living, an organization of persons with disabilities in conducting a budget research and analysis on the government expenditure for persons with disabilities from 2014 – 2019. Please see rationale and project summary for your guidance. Rational of the project: Public budget is the tool of the government’s commitment to realize human rights. This is manifested as programs, activities and projects of the government. The government budget shows priority areas of the government. It is a tool to redistribute resources to improve target sectors. It is the major means to realize policies and achieve goals. Budget allocation and its utilization is the reflection of the actual implementation of the UNCRPD. Simultaneously is the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. This budget research and analysis project will show how much has been allocated and utilized to facilitate inclusion of persons with disabilities in moving towards realization of human rights. This will show the trends in spending and assess its impact. Analysis of value for money for a certain program may be necessary to show its inefficiency and ineffectiveness thereby giving an opportunity for the output of this project to be used as basis of the continuing CRPD-compliant budget advocacy. In the Philippines setting, participation in the budget process of Peoples Organizations is encouraged. This is alongside the people’s responsibility to be vigilant and capacitated for effective participation in budget advocacy arena. The budget process is an entry point for participation in governance and safeguarding the rights of persons with disabilities. Project Summary: This is a 9-month project for budget analysis of government expenditures for persons with disability concerns and participation in related budget advocacy activities such as discussions and lobbying. Focus of the analysis is on program expenditures related to areas within the purview of the prerequisites for inclusion of persons with disabilities; among these are accessibility, support services, and social protection. The objectives of this project: 1. To know what budget are specific to support inclusion of persons with disabilities 2. To know how persons with disabilities benefit from mainstream programs 3. To analyze budget trends 4. To assess impact (value for money) of expenditures to persons with disabilities 5. To have a common basis of the CRPD-compliant budget advocacy in the Philippines The project team will have three (3) members, one full-time supported by two (2) part-time. Intensive desk research will be done on the first four months and additional research work on the next months if necessary. Other needed information not available online will be obtained from concerned government agencies leveraging on the Freedom of Information policy. Additionally, the project will sought utilization of the work of other groups such as the consultation workshop on social protection that Center for Inclusive Policy and CBM Philippines is committing to support. FGD will be conducted to assess impact (value for money) of expenditures to persons with disabilities. Consultation with other Coalition members will be done during the writing down of the report. Afterwards, the report will be disseminated to relevant government agencies, CSOs, and Coalition network. The report will be used for continuing CRPD-compliant budget advocacy in the Philippines. The other component of this project is attending budget-related discussions and lobbying. This will help in vetting and at the same time a concurrent advocacy activity. Among the target government agencies are: 1. DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) 2. DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) 3. DOH (Department of Health) 4. DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) 5. DEPED (Department of Education) Concerning my previous email on my request dated July 15, 2020, I would like to ask for the annual reports from the years 2010 – 2016 as how the Department of Education allocated and utilized the Php100,000,000.00 budget for the instructional materials of learners with disabilities. I’ve listed here the Department Orders for S.Y. 2010 – 2012 for your quick reference: • DO 49, s. 2010 – Guidelines for the Supply, Allocation, Delivery, and Distribution of Centrally Procured Instructional Materials for the Special Education Program at the Basic Education Level | Department of Education • August 24, 2011 DO 66, s. 2011 – Guidelines on the Supply, Allocation, Delivery, and Distribution of Centrally Procured Instructional Materials for the Special Education (SPED) Program at the Basic Education Level | Department of Education • January 10, 2012 DO 2, s. 2012 – Guidelines on the Supply, Allocation, Delivery, and Distribution of Centrally Procured Instructional Materials (IMS) for the Special Education (SPED) Program at the Basic Education Level | Department of Education We believe that this report is one of the highlights of government spending for the disability sector in particular for learners with disabilities. However, the team cannot find the said report published in the internet. The UACS number will also help me to refer to the specific budget line on its annual appropriation. As previously requested, I will highly appreciate receiving the documents in MS Word and MS Excel, formats that are accessible to me. I hope you find the above information sufficient and helpful. In behalf of our research team, I look forward to your favorable response. Thank you and Keep safe. Respectfully yours, SHIELA MAY I. AGGARAO

Dear Sir/Ma'am, I wish to make a kind follow up on my request. Thank you and Kind regards, Shiela May Aggarao