“Dinig Sana Kita” Screening Schedule

July 9, 2009 in Anything Filipino, Deaf Experiences, Deaf Video with Leave a Comment
Tags: Dinig Sana Kita, Mike Sandejas

Guys, here is the screening schedule of the indie film “Dinig Sana Kita (If I Knew What You Said)“.

18 July/Sat, 6:15PM at Tanghalang Huseng Batute
19 July/Sun, 12:45PM at CCP Little Theatre
21 July/Tue, 9:00PM at Tanghalang Huseng Batute
22 July/Wed, 3:30PM at CCP Main Theatre
23 July/Thu, 6:15PM at CCP MKP Hall
24 July/Fri, 12:45PM at CCP MKP Hall
25 July/Sat, 6:15PM at CCP Main Theater

This film is a touching love story between a deaf dancer played by Romalito Mallari and a rocker girl (Zoe Sandejas) who became close to each other while staying in a Baguio camp. Learn more about deaf performers from Dulaang Tahimik ng Pilipinas (Silent Theater Philippines) and featuring a special appearance of the band Sugarfree. The Cinemalaya foundation chose this film as one of the Top 10 Finalists for this year’s Full-length feature category megged by award winning director Mike E. Sandejas.

Here is the theatrical trailer:

Let us support our very own Filipino Indie films.

Being deaf shortens thief’s jail term

July 3, 2009 in Deaf Experiences, Interpreting Issues with 2 Comments
Tags: deaf jailed, Diocesan Association of Volunteers and Interpreters for the Deaf Mute, Judge Arlene Dato

I got this fairly old news article (April 2009) from GMA News Website about a deaf accused of stealing a laptop in January 2007. She cannot hear nor speak. She also doesn’t know any sign language.

It seems that the judge is in a quandary as to how to deal with the accused. The accused deaf lady has been languishing in jail for more than two years and her case hasn’t been arraigned because of the court’s difficulty in communicating with her. So the only legal solution is to set her free. The next issue they have to deal with is where to hand her over because I believe her relatives already abandoned her. Here is the entire news:

MANILA, Philippines — Her condition helped a 20-year-old deaf-mute woman gain her freedom after spending two years in a Negros Oriental jail for theft, an online news site reported on Wednesday.

The Visayan Daily Star said Judge Arlene Dato ordered the release of the deaf-mute, who was accused of theft in January 2007.

The woman was jailed after she was caught stealing the laptop of Manuel Cesar Reno Cadiz. She was also linked to other theft cases.

But Dato noted the woman had not been arraigned for more than two years, because she could not speak and does not know sign language.

She said both factors hampered her right to a speedy trial, adding it would be a travesty of justice for her to continue languishing in jail without her case being tried.

Dato said all avenues by which the accused can be effectively arraigned have been exhausted, to no avail.

On the other hand, the local Bureau of Jail Management and Penology faces the problem of who to turn the deaf-mute over, as she has no known family or address.

Carmelo Cepe of the Diocesan Association of Volunteers and Interpreters for the Deaf Mute, called on families who may be interested in giving the deaf-mute a temporary shelter.

He said his group was contacted to help police authorities communicate with the girl, but she was not trained on sign language.

The City Social Welfare Office also cannot provide temporary shelter to the woman at the Casa Esperanza as most of those staying there are minors.

Lecture: Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities through Tertiary Education

June 27, 2009 in Deaf Experiences, Special Announcements with 1 Comment
Tags: Riku-Heikki Virtanen, Therese Bustos

I want to share with you about this invitation I got from a long-time friend of mine in the deaf community and an expert sign language interpreter (she’s a hearing person by the way) Dr. Marie Therese Angeline Bustos of the University of the Philippines College of Education.

The University of the Philippines Diliman College of Education will hold a Lecture series entitled: “Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities through Tertiary Education“. It will be held on July 4, 2009, Saturday, 9:00am at the Benitez Theater. The special guest speaker is Mr. Riku-Heikki Virtanen, LL.M, a Deaf-blind human rights lawyer from Finland.

Here is a short description about the speaker:

Riku-Heikki Virtanen is a deaf-blind human rights lawyer from Finland. He has a Master of Laws degree from the University of Turku. His research focused on the right to work, reasonable accommodation and equality between disabled entrepreneurs and disabled workers. He serves as the vice-chairperson of Threshold Association, a human rights organization that promotes the rights of persons with disabilities and is the consultant and board member of the Finnish Deaf-Blind Association.

Deaf? Here’s free proof that you can hear!

June 8, 2009 in Deaf Experiences, Technologies with Leave a Comment
Tags: hearing aid ads

Aha! I got your attention there! That title was the tagline used in order to sell their company’s wonder product back in the early twentieth century.

I got this very old scanned magazine page from “The Silent Worker” Issue No. 33 printed in 1920 by then Gallaudet College. The device called “Acousticon” was invented and sold by Dictograph Products Corporation of New York City. It’s like a portable hearing aid with microphone system together with six step volume control which can be carried in a suitcase. Wow! I couldn’t imagine deaf people wearing that gadget while walking on the street in those days.

The scanned article was reprinted by the Aladin WLRC Catalog Libraries. They have a huge repository of old magazines kept by large universities in the US. Their site is a great resource for most of your researches and studies. Enjoy

Deaf People and the Filipino Catholic Faith

June 7, 2009 in Deaf Experiences, Notable Filipino Deaf Institution with Leave a Comment
Tags: Bacolod Deaf, Catholic deaf, Catholic Ministry to Deaf People, Fr. Ramon Del Prado, Fr. Sean Coyle, Santo Cristo De Longos, St. Francis De Sales

Even though I openly profess, based on my previous posts that I am a Born-again Christian and belongs to a Bible Baptist denomination, I hold very high respect to the Catholic Christian faith and their faithfuls. Our country has nearly 80% of the population who follows the Papal authority in Rome. I have many relatives from both sides who are devout Catholics. I even had an Aunt who is a nun. I also had an opportunity to interpret in Catholic church weddings although I’m not used to their rituals.

St. Francis De Sales

After reading the blog of Fr Seán Coyle, a Catholic priest serving the deaf people from Bacolod City in the island of Negros Occidental, I found out about St. Francis De Sales the Patron Saint of the Deaf and Hearing-impaired. It was very much an interesting read because in 1605, St. Francis took care and gave education to an indigent young man named Martin, a deaf-mute from birth. The man came almost daily to a house in Roche, France, where Bishop de Sales was staying, to ask for alms. He was a strong young man fit for all kinds of work, and the Bishop’s housekeeper often allowed him to help her in payment for the Bishop’s generosity.

I have not met Fr. Coyle personally because of our difference in religious affiliation. But I would definitely like to meet him if given a chance. He has made many remarkable missionary work for the deaf people in Bacolod. He truly is God’s man especially for those who can’t hear.

In the research made by Dr. Liza Martinez and Mr. Rafaelito Abat, it was the Spanish priest Fr. Ramon Del Prado, who arrived at the island of Leyte who first used sign language as a method of teaching catechism and to administer the sacrament of baptism to the deaf.

A recent newspaper article wrote about a legend in Binondo, a district in Manila with predominantly Chinese immigrants, which revolved around the venerated image of Santo Cristo de Longos, an image of the crucified Christ. It was said to be found by a deaf-mute Chinese at the site of an old well in the barrio of Longos in Binondo.

The Filipino Deaf has greatly benefited from the works of the Catholic missions. They often hold yearly national congress on deafness since 1989 and provided sheltered homes and centers to indigent deaf people in the provinces. Many Catholic churches nationwide celebrate mass in sign language.

During the late nineties where deaf fraternities became so rampant and went out of hand, the Catholic Ministry to Deaf People spearheaded the campaign to re-educate the warring groups by providing them sports and spiritual activities. I was personally involved in those activities because back then, MCCID was one of those hit hard by the violence made by these factions. I became one of the facilitators together with Sis. Joy Cristal and Prof. Tess Buenaventura. Both of them are currently connected with DLS-College of St. Benilde School for Deaf Education.

Those movements eventually brought peace among the deaf group.