Philippines · Pilipinas

Kumusta. Kuwento natin ito.

FSL has been the law since 2018. The news signs. Nothing else does.

Signed: Filipino Sign Language — pending How this page is tested

Republic Act 11106 promised sign language in classrooms, city halls and on television. Parañaque is writing the rest into city law; your city can be next.

Being invited is not the same as being let in.
So we are building the way in — ourselves.

For LGUs and government

This page in Filipino Sign Language

A named Deaf Filipino creator tells this page's story in Filipino Sign Language. The video is the page; the text is its transcript's cousin.

Filipino Sign Language (FSL) Captions + transcript ship with the video. Read this instead

Promised. Delivered?

Compliant isn't the same as understood.

The Philippines has already written much of this into law. The distance between the promise and the ordinary day is where we work.

In plain words

The FSL Act promised sign language on the news, in schools and in government offices. Some of it arrived. Most of it has not.

Ipinangako ng FSL Act ang sign language sa balita, sa paaralan, at sa mga opisina ng gobyerno. May dumating na ilan. Karamihan, hindi pa.

  1. The law says

    TV news and public affairs must carry a Filipino Sign Language interpreter inset.

    Republic Act 11106; Talastasan journal study

    And it works

    All three major evening newscasts now do — before the law only one did. Deaf viewers say the inset is often too small to follow comfortably, and no regulator has published a compliance audit.

  2. The law says

    Filipino Sign Language is the medium of instruction in deaf education.

    Republic Act 11106; Department of Education figures reported by Bulatlat

    In practice

    One government school serves Deaf students exclusively, reported to have two Deaf teachers. The education department does not track how many teachers nationwide can sign.

  3. The law says

    Nothing required a way to call for help without a voice.

    Unified 911 launch, DILG with PLDT

    In practice

    There was none for years. A unified 911 with texting for people who cannot speak began rolling out in September 2025, region by region. There is no video relay service.

Ayuda is not access. It gives a man a fish, not a path toward fishing for himself.

What changes next

Months, not years.

In plain words

Three things we and the community can put in front of people quickly. Each one is already built — it needs a city, a screen, and creators who get paid.

Tatlong bagay na mabilis naming maipakita kasama ang komunidad. Gawa na ang bawat isa — kailangan lang ng lungsod, ng screen, at ng mga creator na binabayaran.

What one LGU signs, 1,714 more can copy.

See a replicable ordinance

  1. The first accessible screening

    Our cities gave us free movie tickets — to films that still do not speak our language. No FSL, no captions, no audio description. Being invited is not the same as being let in. So: one cinema, one city, every screening accessible, with the receipts published. The cinema-access ordinance has already passed first reading.

  2. Paid FSL creators

    Deaf Filipinos signing films, lessons and public information, and being paid for it. The delivery layer exists; what it needs is FSL in it.

  3. A signed news digest

    A regular summary in FSL by paid Deaf creators — small enough to start this year, and how a creator community starts earning.

Who this gets built with

We did not arrive to an empty room.

Deaf Filipinos have been organising, teaching and campaigning for decades. Our work here belongs alongside them, not in front of them.

These organisations are not partners — they are the people already doing this work here. If we come to this country, it should be alongside them.

People signing in FSL today

This list names real people, so it publishes only once each of them has been checked. Suggest a creator we should include.

Start something

What do you want to do?

  • I want access

    Watch.Understand.Belong.

    Films, news and services — in FSL, captions, or audio description.

    Go

  • I create access

    Create.Get paid.Be seen.

    Maging creator — sign, caption or describe in FSL, Filipino or English. Deaf creators come first.

    Go

  • I provide access

    One API.Every screen.

    Broadcasters, cinemas, schools and services: deliver FSL to your audience.

    Go

  • I back access

    Host.Sponsor.Invest.

    Cities, cinema chains, brands, distributors and investors — be part of the firsts.

    Go

I work for a city or government — LGUs are not unwilling; they just do not have the solution. Ordinance templates, procurement-ready framing, and a contact that answers.

What happens after you write

  1. Write in whichever language suits you — English, Filipino, or a video in FSL.
  2. We reply within five working days, in the form you used. Deaf staff and interpreters read the video messages.
  3. We look at one service together, and say honestly whether we can help with it.

Every peso enters as compliance and leaves as a creator's income and a citizen finally served. Local contact: partners@a11y.media · send a video message in FSL

Know your rights

What you are entitled to here.

In plain words

These are things Philippine law already says you can ask for. If you have been refused any of them, that refusal was against the law — not a favour you were denied.

Ito ang mga bagay na sinasabi na ng batas na maaari mong hingin. Kung tinanggihan ka sa alinman dito, labag iyon sa batas — hindi iyon pabor na ipinagkait sa iyo.

Written plainly, with the law behind each one linked as a receipt. This is the part of the page we would most like a Deaf Filipino organisation to check and correct.

Tell us what we got wrong · Accessibility statement

Your language

Recognised as the national sign language of the Filipino Deaf, and the official sign language of government.

Republic Act 11106 (Filipino Sign Language Act): FSL in deaf education, interpreter insets on TV news, courts, and state hospitals.

Official Gazette of the Philippines — Republic Act No. 11106

On television

Yes. All three major evening newscasts now carry an FSL interpreter, as the FSL Act requires.

Before the law only one network did it. Deaf viewers report the inset is often too small to read comfortably, and no regulator has published a compliance audit.

Talastasan: A Philippine Journal of Communication and Media Studies

At school

10,264 Deaf learners are enrolled in special-needs education. One government school serves the Deaf exclusively.

The FSL Act makes Filipino Sign Language the medium of instruction in deaf education. The Philippine School for the Deaf, founded 1907, is reported to have two Deaf teachers on staff; the education department does not track how many teachers sign.

Department of Education figures for school year 2023–24, reported by Bulatlat

In an emergency

Only just. A unified 911 service launched in September 2025 with texting for people who cannot speak, rolling out region by region.

Before that there was no way to reach emergency services without voice. There is no video relay service. Coverage, and whether it is reaching Deaf Filipinos, is not yet independently reported.

Unified 911 launch, Department of the Interior and Local Government with PLDT

Talk to us

Tell us who you are

Write in your own language. We reply in it.

Contact us by form, email, or a signed video message — never voice-only.

I am…