Eighteen learners successfully completed the two-day learning event on Filipino Sign Language as The National Sign Language of The Filipino Deaf and The Official Sign Language of Government in all Transactions for The Hearing-Impaired Clients conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region X on August 19-20, 2020 in Cagayan de Oro City.

This is an innovation under the DENR X headed by the Regional Executive Director Arleigh J. Adorable, CESO III. The learning event was aimed to provide efficient service to all types of clients or groups specially the Persons with Disability (PWD) sector of the community.

Resource speakers were Executive Director of the Deaf Association of Misamis Oriental, Inc. (DAMOR) Hazel D. Bual and Sign Language Interpreter from City Social Welfare and Development Ma. Cheryl A. Gacita.

Assistant Regional Director (ARD) for Management Services Felix S. Mirasol, Jr. shared about RA 7277 and RA 9442 also known as Magna Carta for disabled persons, and for other purposes which require government offices to treat their client with equal opportunity. He pointed out that all personnel should serve the public with excellence, integrity and honesty.

DENR X Chief of Administrative Division Grace Dolores R. Chan said that the main purpose of the event is to teach frontliners the fundamentals of the Filipino Sign Language (FSL) so they could interact with clienteles who are part of the deaf community.
OIC-Chief of Human Resource Development Section Georgina C. Padilla discussed Republic Act No. 11106 which is an act declaring the Filipino Sign Language as The National Sign Language of The Filipino Deaf and The Official Sign Language of Government in all transactions involving the Deaf, and mandating its use in schools, broadcast media, and workplaces. She emphasized that DENR is an agency that wanted to be responsive and relevant to its clients not only to the able-bodied but also the deaf.
Topics include “What is like to be Deaf?” – Understanding Deaf and Deaf Culture, Learning Basic Signs such as alphabets, numbers, greetings, members of the family, feelings and emotion, and telling time common used words. The learners also had a workshop, actual communication with Deaf application, and group singing using sign language assisted by Winlyn Heartwill Q. Ucab and Mary Ann T. Nagac of the Deaf Association of Misamis Oriental, Inc. (DAMOR). RPAO MR No. 09-245-2020