Sad plight of blind masseurs at Duty Free

For the past 14 years, a group of 10 masseurs have been rendering massage services to customers of Duty Free Philippines (DFP) in Parañaque City. A number of chairs are lined up every day at its waiting area where customers would take their seats and enjoy a very relaxing massage while waiting for their relatives shopping at DFP.

These blind masseurs are licensed by the Department of Health after passing the required tests and training conducted by the National Vocational Rehabilitation Center of the Department of Social Welfare and Development as qualified massage therapist. The meager income and tips they received from their fully satisfied customers were used to support their children’s education and defray family expenses.

I visited DFP last week for my regular monthly massage and was surprised to find out that its waiting area is now filled with Christmas decors. Gone were the blind masseurs who were transferred by DFP management to an area near the exit door of the food court.

Unlike in the waiting area where they could easily be seen by DFP customers, they could hardly be noticed at their new venue which considerably prejudiced their income because by the time customers would see them they were already done shopping and on their way home already. The area is not even conducive to a relaxing massage because of its exposure to smoke and smell of cooked food.

These blind masseurs sought the help of DFP management to whom they relayed their present predicament but no one seems to have seen the light and their plight.

Perhaps, it is not yet too late to call the attention of DFP officers that the true spirit of Christmas is not shown by the beautiful Christmas decors in our surroundings but by the compassion we extend to our less fortunate fellowmen like these poor blind masseurs.

They are the very people sought to be protected by Republic Act No. 7277, or the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability, wherein the state is directed to give them “full support to improve their total well-being and to develop their skills and potentials.” If the past administration of DFP had allowed them to stay in its waiting area, there is no reason why the same accommodation could not be extended to them at present.

The DFP, being an instrument of the government, is mandated by law to extend all its support to all PWDs like these blind masseurs to ensure that they are given all the chances for “rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance” most especially in this Christmas season.

ROMULO B. MACALINTAL,
Las Piñas City