Sonia Roco apologizes, clarifies her statement

Senatoriable Mrs. Sonia Roco quickly responded to the reaction made by the Autism Society of the Philippines (ASP), clarifying that her statement did not intend to hurt those who have worked hard to remove the social stigma associated with autism.

ASP President Ms. Dang Koe shares with us Mrs. Roco's letter:

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> April 6, 2007
>
> Dear Ms. Dang Uy Koe
>
> The comment was not intended to hurt you or those who
> have worked hard for 20 years to remove the social
> stigma associated with autism.
>
> Please allow me to clarify that the statement was
> uttered in a context not meant to deride or demean
> those who are suffering from autism and the people
> like you who care for them.
>
> It was simply a quick answer to the question,"what can
> you say about the Team Unity claiming they will make
> 12-0? My
> reply was " ano ba sila dreaming? para silang
> autistic, may sariling mundo."
>
> ".may sariling mundo" was what I added to my main
> statement. We are each living in our own individual
> world, while being members of a whole. That was the
> only reference I meant, insinuating that Team Unity is
> so engrossed in their own world that they shut out the
> realities of the community around them. The answer was
> directed
> to Team Unity and to Team Unity alone.
>
> I am sorry. if as you have expressed, the statement
> hurt you and the 400,000 families you represent.
>
> It might be of help to let you know that I had a
> sister who was a special child and at that time, she
> was called "retarded" and all those similarly situated
> were branded retardates. In Raul's family, his
> youngest sister was labelled by psychologists as
> "mongoloid", now termed Down's syndrome or Trisomie.
> Yes, I understand where you are coming from.
> as I hope you will understand to whom the commentary
> was directed to.
>
> I appreciate your feedback. I have learned my lesson.
> If there is any way I could be of help just in case I
> make it to the Senate, with your support which I pray
> you will bless me with, please feel free to contact me
> anytime.
>
> May this Easter bring us Peace and Understanding.
> Thank you and God bless.
>
> Yours Sincerely,
> Sonia M. Roco
--------------------------------

Well surely, Mrs. Roco found a way to save herself from this crucial mistake she made, and even got some badly-needed exposure and makeover to help inch her way up to the Magic 12. Whether she was sincere or not, that would be up to the voters to decide. It is quite easy to accept an apology, but it is definitely hard to forget her insensitive act of stepping on a certain sector of society just to get some airtime. What might have really insulted families and friends of our uniquely loved brothers and sisters was the way Sonia Roco related autism to the severely-decaying world she wants to belong to, spelled out as P-O-L-I-T-I-C-S.

-Dexter

Autism Society reacts to Sonia Roco's statement

Filipinos with autistic family members were gravely hurt by senatoriable Sonia Roco's recent political yet irresponsible statement. This sentiment is shared by ASM--The Autism Society of the Philippines. Here is their reaction to Roco's statement:


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"Para naman silang mga autistic...me sariling mundo".

This is what Senatorial candidate Sonia Roco said when interviewed on TV Patrol Monday evening newscast, regarding Team Unity's reaction to poll surveys on Top 12 senators. She followed her statement with a hearty laugh.

But we could not laugh with her.

Coming from a respectable Educator like Mrs. Roco, families of Filipinos with autism could not help but feel hurt by such statement, given the context that it was said. After all, we have worked so hard for the past 20 years to educate Filipinos about autism, and to remove the social stigma associated with it.

We can't help but wonder...if a poll survey is to be conducted now among the estimated 400,000 Filipino families (multiply that please with the number of immediate family members and elatives, plus professionals involved), what would be Mrs. Roco's ranking?

Dang Uy Koe

President

Autism Society Philippines

Update: ASP already got in touch with the office of Mrs. Roco regarding this matter and is expecting her reply.

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While we Filipinos are fond of cracking jokes, what I really cannot digest is how certain people would make fun of special people--the autistic, the handicapped, the poor, the obesed, the curly-haired, the dark-colored...the list just goes longer. I mean can't we just respect one another? We are each created uniquely, but we are all equals in this world, and we have no right to claim that we are superior to others. We need to even have that responsibility to widen our understanding and concern for people who are often misunderstood. Wouldn't this world be a better place if we just lift our morals a little bit higher than where it is collectively right now?

-Dexter