In a truly inclusive society, the welfare of the poor and the marginalized are always upheld, and nobody gets left behind in the push for development.

In the same vein, a society that values transparency must always ensure that information transmitted through mass media is made accessible especially to the more ~vulnerable sectors of society, especially persons with disabilities (PWDs) and those with hearing impairments.

This bill seeks to require the broadcast of television programs and showing of motion pictures and other audio-visual presentation with “closed captions” (CC), and providing penalties of violation thereof to respond to the needs of hearing-impaired individuals.

“Closed captioning”, as defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States government, “allows persons with hearing disabilities to have access to television programming by displaying the audio portion of a television program as text on the television screen.”i

Moreover, the FCC website states that closed captioning “provides a critical link to news, entertainment and information for [the hearing-impaired] … Captions also help improve literacy skills.”

Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) states: “The prevalence of disabling hearing loss in children is greatest in South Asia, Asia Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa,” with the Asia Pacific as the region with the second highest incidence next to South Asia, Moreover, “In children, prevalence decreases exponentially as gross national income per capita (GNI) increases,” and “in most regions, prevalence in children decreases linearly as parent’s literacy rate increases.” Meanwhile, “in adults of 65 years and older, prevalence decreases exponentially as income increases.”

This means that a poor individuals that are either deaf, mute or hard of hearing have a lesser chance of accessing information through mass media.

In the Philippines, 1.23% of the entire population is either deaf, mute, or hearing impaired. As of 2009, the projected deaf population is already at 241,624 for those who are totally deaf and 275,912 for those who are partially deaf. That means that at least 517,536 people currently have very limited access to media and information because of their hearing impaired ness.

We firmly believe that, as the late great President Ramon Magsaysay had said, “those who have less in life should have more in law.” Therefore, this bill seeks to provide to hearing impaired Filipinos a luxury which many of us take for granted.

By making closed captioning compulsory for all franchise holders of operators of television stations, producers of television programs, home video programs, and motion pictures, we seek to open access to information, learning, and entertainment to Filipinos who are currently denied this basic right.

In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

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