The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) held its first assessment meeting about the status of implementation of the Web Accessibility Memo Circular No. 4 last September 13, 2019 at DICT Seminar Room.
Presiding over the meeting is Dir. Philip Varilla, Information Bureau Chief of DICT. He requested for the said meeting upon the orders of the Office of the President as an offshoot of the First Accessibility Summit held recently. Among those from the government who attended include the National Council on Disability Affairs led by TCD Chief Dandy Victa, representatives from the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and attached agencies of DICT. PWAG President Jojo Esposa Jr. and ATRIEV President Tony Llanes participated as part of the non-government organizations.
Ms. Jing Sara of DICT presented the current status of web accessibility compliance among government websites that are hosted by the Government Web Hosting Service (GWHS). She regretfully informed the group that the government still has zero (0) compliance as per WCAG 2.0 guidelines based on the 2018 web audit report.
For his part, Mr. Esposa requested the group to clarify the role of PWAG and ATRIEV in the government’s web accessibility agenda.
The group also discussed the sustainable development goal of web accessibility and guidelines in uploading files. They also requested the DICT o come up with a sustainability plan for the implementation of Memo Circular No. 4 such as adding it as a part of issuing Seal of Local Governance, Government Transparency Seal and giving awards and recognition to compliant websites.
DICT Memo Circular was signed on May 12, 2017.
