December 2018
ACCESSIBILITY ARCHITECTS!
Uap Makati Cbd Chapter
Receives Apolinario Mabini
Award
Story by: : Ar. Vanessa Lagman-Ledesma, UAP
The UAP Makati CBD Chapter has for many years adopted
the advocacy of helping "People with Disabilities." We do
this by volunteering our time and skills to perform audits
on different establishments in cooperation with Non-
Government Organizations (NGOs) and government agencies
such as the Department of Tourism (DOT) where we audited
twenty hotels within Metro Manila; the San Lorenzo Village
where we audited thirty plus buildings in two months time;
the Makati Tourism Foundation where we audited business
establishments like malls and offices, and many others. We
also help design spaces for those with disabilities like an on-
going school project in Quezon Province.
For many years now, we would audit the many establishments
who bid to win the Disabled-Friendly Establishments of
the Year of the Apolinario Mabini Awards. This has to be in
compliance with the rules set forth in BP 344, otherwise
known as the Accessibility Law. It takes a lot of time and
effort auditing and collating the findings, but we do it as a
service and simply because we enjoy it.
A few years ago, our chapter decided that maybe we should
try and bid for an award. And with God's grace, WE WON! The
UAP Makati CBD Chapter took the Rehabilitation Volunteer of
the Year award for the group category while our very own
Chapter President Arch. Michael Frederick Zingapan Lazo
took the Rehabilitation Volunteer of the Year for the individual
category; this after volunteering his technical expertise doing
accessibility audits, and especially for contributing technical
drawings for the draft amendments of the Implementing
Rules and Regulations (IRR) of BP 344.
The awarding ceremonies were held on December 3, 2018
at the Kalayaan Hall of historic Club Filipino in Greenhills,
San Juan. Congratulations to all of us at the UAP Makati CBD
Chapter. Though we do not volunteer for the sake of receiving
awards, this appreciation of our efforts is an icing on the
cake.