The Filipino Sign Language (FSL) is the official language of education for deaf Filipinos, which number around 1,165,000 .
Language emergence
First use of signs (1604) The first incidence of sign language emergence was documented in 1604. During this time, a hearing priest used gestures to explain religious practices and the concept of God to two deaf Filipinos. After this incident, the two deaf Filipinos spread their new knowledge to their religious groups. After 1604, there is little history of documented Filipino Sign Language (FSL) until 1907.
Influence of American Sign Language (1907) During this time, the United States of America had colonized the Philippines, and the American colonists built the School for the Deaf and Blind in 1907. Miss Delight Rice was invited to teach the Deaf students at the school. She noted having to persuade Filipino parents to let their children be educated. She recalled that the parents were ashamed of their deaf children, and she had to persuade the parents that all children were deserving of an education. While at the School for the Deaf and Blind, deaf students who knew sign language were taught American Sign Language (ASL). They were taught the ASL alphabet, which is identical to the current FSL alphabet. In school, students were also taught Signing Exact English (SEE).
Distinction from American Sign Language (present) Both languages utilize the same Latin alphabet system, and most of the letters are fingerspelled the same in ASL and FSL, but there are a few key differences. The letters E, T, and G are signed with slightly different hand shapes in ASL and FSL. While E and G are signed differently for genetic reasons, the letter T is signed differently for cultural reasons. Besides the minor letter discrepancies, FSL and ASL differ in some vocabulary words, some classifier and grammatical features, and some syntactical modification processes. There are also regional variations between cities and islands of the Philippines.
Major organizations
Philippine Federation of the Deaf (PFD) The Philippine Federation of the Deaf (PFD) is a non-profit organization whose goals include preserving FSL, encouraging Deaf identities, representing Deaf Filipinos in global settings, and aiding the development of grassroots organizations. They were founded in 1997. They are a member of the World Federation for the Deaf (WFD) and have collaborated with the Philippine Deaf Resource Center (PDRC) to conduct studies on justice equality for Deaf Filipinos. PFD has also collaborated with other empowerment organizations such as Discovering Deaf Worlds (DDW). Their promoted project (USAID Expand Program) on their website trains organizations in management skills, forwarding the member organizations' independence in educating and advocating for their members.
Philippine Deaf Resource Center (PDRC) The Philippine Deaf Resource Center (PDRC) was founded in 2001. Their main focus is research in the Filipino Sign Language field and how Deafness affects socio-economic standing. They also provide resources for Deaf people and their families and friends, especially telecommunication technology. In 2009, the PDRC created an online corporus for Philippine languages, which included resources, such as religious texts and artistic prose and poems, for the four most common spoken languages (Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, and Hiligaynon) as well as the most common sign language, FSL. This online corporus of Philippine languages is available online on PALITO; it is unknown whether PALITO is available for the public or only researchers.
International Deaf Education Association (IDEA) The International Deaf Education Association (IDEA) focus on vocational and missionary education for Deaf children on the islands of Bohol and Leyte. In 1991, IDEA was established in the Philippines as a non-profit organization. The only options for support from people across the world are donating to the organization, by sponsoring a child, sponsoring a teacher, or donating straight to the Digital Learning Fund or to the organization as a whole.
Discovering Deaf Worlds (DDW) Discovering Deaf Worlds (DDW) provides education, encourages advocacy, aims to expand Deaf people's role in society, and building community development skills for Deaf Filipinos. In their past projects, they've focused on finding Deaf Costa Rican advocates to speak out for their Deaf community, giving Indian Deaf Disabled children a chance at new life, and implementing leadership and community building skills in several Indian cities. They also worked with PFD to demand that FSL be declared the national sign language of the Philippines.
Human and civil rights The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was crafted by the United Nations (UN) in 2006 and was effective after 2008. Before the document became effective, the Philippines signed the CRPD in 2007 and ratified it in 2008.
In 2014, the UN released the "List of issues in relation to the initial report of the Philippines." In 2013, the Philippine Coalition on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities wrote "A Parallel Report submitted to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the implementation of the Convention in the Republic of the Philippines from 2008-2013. Here is the list of Deaf-related facets from the report in 2013 and 2014: high concern about the lack of access to justice for Deaf people, especially the lack of sign language interpreters in judicial settings despite legislation for equity in this setting high concern about discriminatory policies that prevent Deaf people from carrying out activities of daily living, such as the requirement of Deaf people who drive to have a hearing person with them at all times high concern about the sexual violence against Deaf women and girls; "a total of 346+ cases involving deaf parties from 2006-2012, violence against deaf women account for over 168 cases" high concern for a law that claims Deaf people are so "demented" that they cannot legally be witness to the execution of a will high concern for the mistreatment of deaf children in schools, such as punishment for signing and coercion into speech therapy high concern for the increasing number of deaf children who receive cochlear implants
In 2018, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities released the "Concluding observations on the initial report of the Philippines." Here is the list of Deaf-related facets from the report in 2018: high concern about the sexual violence against Deaf women and girls; "rape cases filed by women and girls who are deaf or hard of hearing outnumber all other types of complaints by women with disabilities, by a factor of 10 to 1," especially school-aged children high concern about the lack of Deaf identity in the Filipino Deaf community strong recommendation that disaster relief foundations provide information in sign language strong recommendation to increase the number of sign language interpreters in judicial settings
There was also high concern about the lack of a national sign language. This was ameliorated by the passing of legislation RA 11106 in mid-2018, which recognized FSL as the national sign language. This legislation ensured that government transactions are translated into FSL for all, promoted a collaboration for a standard national curriculum in deaf education, encouraged the utilization of Deaf teachers in Deaf education, created a rigorous sign language interpreter training program to ensure adequate interpretation, and enforced the use of FSL in the workplace, judicial settings, hospitals, public transportation settings, and media.
Early hearing detection and intervention Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) is shown to decrease the language delay and language deprivation that is common with deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. In 2007, the Philippine government started a task force for Newborn Hearing Screening. In 2009, the Philippine government passed the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention Act with RA9709. In terms of implementation, otoacoustic emission (OAE) and automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) are the recommended testing methods for newborns in the Philippines.
RA9709 The RA9709, titled "Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention Act of 2009," is the current legislation that has provisions for UNHS in the Philippines (with some modifications in 2020).Congress of the Philippines. (2009). Republic Act 9709: An act establishing a Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program for the Prevention, Early Diagnosis and Intervention of Hearing Loss. The policies especially significant to UNHS are listed below: Section 2: Declaration of Policy - this section recognizes that DHH children deserve language access from a young age, and the purpose of this policy will be the first step to enforce that Section 3: Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program - this section defines the provisions for hearing screening and follow up for all infants Section 5: Obligation to Inform - this section requires all healthcare professionals who are a part of newborn delivery to inform parents about the necessity of hearing screenings Section 6: Obligation to Perform Newborn Hearing Loss Screening and Audiologic Diagnostic Evaluation - this section requires all infants to be screened before 3 months old, and that the responsibility for testing falls on the child's parents and healthcare professionals Section 7: Refusal to be Tested - this section allows religious or cultural exceptions for hearing screening, but a waiver must be signed Section 8: Continuous Education, Re-Education and Training - this section requires government agencies to provide information and training about hearing screening to healthcare professionals Section 11: Establishment of Newborn Hearing Screening Center - this section requires the establishment of specific centers for hearing screenings, referrals, and follow-up appointments Section 12: Data Management and Applied Research - this section requires periodical submission of screening test data and long-term plans made for each child Section 14: Newborn Screening Fees - this section requires that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) include the cost of newborn hearing screening in its costs
Implementation Generally, healthcare workers in the Philippines feel obligated to alert new parents about the hearing screening tests whether they give birth in a hospital, where it's required, or at home, where it's more difficult to implement. However, there are still limitations in some provinces and rural areas for access to proper technologies or information dissemination techniques that could be remedied.
Interventions Children have the option to buy hearing aids or cochlear implants. Hearing aids can cost anywhere between 35,000 and 280,000 Philippine pesos, while cochlear implants can cost up to 1,200,000 Philippine pesos. The Philippine Department of Education also offers Special Education (SPED) programs in all public schools for children with disabilities. These programs are overseen by the National Council on Disability Affairs. Deaf children are provided with access to sign language in their education in the SPED programs of mainstream schools. Many SPED teachers utilize a bilingual approach, teaching students American Sign Language.
Higher education
Legal protection The Republic Act No. 7277 promotes adequate education for disabled people in the Philippines. This act declares, among other things: Section 5: Equal Opportunity for Employment - people cannot be denied employment on the basis of disability Section 6: Sheltered Employment - if disabled people can't find employment, they are ensured to find a stable job in their field of interest through sheltered employment