SM celebrates National Autism Consciousness Week with great strides in true inclusion

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.rappler.com/brandrap/sm-supermalls-celebrate-national-autism-consciousness-week-january-2026/

📢 Problem sa BPI Mobile App – Screen Reader Accessibility for Blind People

Hi guys, I’m Aaron, I'm blind, BPI client and credit card holder. For the past 3 weeks (and counting), totally wala akong access sa BPI Mobile App. Hindi ako makalog in, makacheck ng balance, o makabayad ng credit card bill kasi yung app is completely unreadable sa TalkBack (screen reader application naming mga blind at visually impaired users sa Android).

👉 Ano yung screen reader application?
Para siyang voice na nagbabasa ng laman ng screen para magamit naming mga bulag ang phone o computer – from chat, shopping, entertainment, social media hanggang banking.
Kung hindi accessible yung app sa screen reader, hindi namin siya magagamit. kumbaga sa mga nakakakita, blank screen ang nakikita namin.

Kung sa mga nakakakita ito nangyari at biglang nag-blank screen yung buong app nila, sigurado ako na aayusin agad-agad ng BPI.

❌ Pero sa amin, 3 weeks na, and counting. Totally no access. Hindi “inconvenient” lang — this is zero access.

At hindi naman puwede na sasabihin lang na “magpa-assist ka na lang”. Banking is confidential, at dapat independent kaming makagamit ng sarili naming accounts. Kung sa sighted clients hindi acceptable na may ibang makikialam sa banking transactions nila, dapat ganoon din ang respeto at trato sa aming mga bulag.

This is not just a tech issue — violation ito ng rights ng PWDs. May mga batas na nagsasabing dapat accessible at nondiscriminatory ang services:

RA 7277 (Magna Carta for Persons with Disability)

RA 9442 (penalizing discrimination)

BP 344 (Accessibility Law)

Plus, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

👉 Responsibility ng BPI na siguraduhin na inclusive at accessible ang banking services nila. Hindi puwedeng ma-exclude ang PWD clients.

🔴 Kaya I’m calling on BPI:

1. Ayusin agad ang issue at gawing screen reader–friendly ulit ang mobile app.

2. Maglabas ng malinaw na statement at timeline kung kailan maaayos ang problem sa access.

3. and hopefully, mag-commit na lahat ng future updates ay dumadaan sa accessibility testing.

⚖️ At nananawagan din ako sa Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP): bilang regulator ng mga bangko, dapat ninyo itong aksyunan at siguruhin na ang lahat ng financial institutions ay sumusunod sa accessibility at nondiscrimination laws. Hindi puwedeng iwan sa ere ang PWD clients.

💡 Accessibility is not a favor. Karapatan namin ito.

👉 Kung naniniwala ka sa equal rights ng PWDs, specially for blind people, at sigurado akong may kilala kang PWD friend o family member, please gawin mo ito para sa amin—share niyo itong post para makita ng BPI at BSP na dapat na itong aksyunan.

#BPI #BSP #NCDA #PWD #Accessibility #InclusiveBanking #DigitalInclusion #Blind #Bulag #EqualAccess #AccessibilityMatters #InclusivePH #Philippines #Pinas #Filipino #DisabilityRights

🦯 🦯 🦯 Advocating for Inclusivity: A Call to Action. Please boost for more reach.

A few days ago, I was commenting on a few posts from National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) calling out the lack of #AltText on photos they post on their social media accounts. I feel that they must be made aware as they are promoting inclusivity and yet, photos they are posting are not inclusive to blind people reading there post. to those of you who doesn’t know, Facebook lets users add alt text on the images they post on the platform.
Let’s break it down: Alt text (short for alternative text) is like a secret doorway to accessibility. When users add alt text to the images they post on Facebook or any other social media platform that allows it, they’re essentially providing a description of the image. This description is then read aloud by screen reading software, allowing blind individuals to understand what’s happening in the image.
Now, here’s the catch: alt text is invisible to sighted users. It doesn’t clutter up the visual experience for them, but it makes all the difference for those blind people like us relying on screen readers. Imagine being able to “see” a photo through words—vivid descriptions that paint a mental picture.

Anyways, enough of the explanation thing. I got a reply from them (please see the screenshot). I’m hopeful that they’ll follow through on their promise. And to all blind people who are following them or any other organization for persons with disability, most specially blindness organizations, let’s hold these organizations accountable. They are promoting inclusivity, so the small steps should be coming from them.

So, my message to the NCDA and to all my friends sharing images online, most specially blindness organizations promoting inclusivity (you know who you are), Let’s make our content truly inclusive! Adding alt text is a small but impactful step toward ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can fully engage with the content we put out there.

#Blind #Blindness #BlindLife #Inclusivity #Inclusion #accessibility #Bulag #AltText #AltTextAwareness #AltText4Me #NCDA #Philippines #Filipino #Pinoy