For the first time in 17 years, Angels Walk – an annual march to bring awareness of autism in the Philippines – was viewed worldwide vi...
For the
first time in 17 years, Angels Walk – an annual march to bring awareness of
autism in the Philippines – was viewed worldwide via livestream. The
international autism community, along with families and supporters, saw a
record-breaking number of participants march around the SM Mall of Asia grounds
coming from inside the jampacked MOA Arena.
Around
24,000 online registrants expressed their interest to participate in this
year’s event, with more on the wait-list trooping straight to the venue. The
activity started inside the MOA Arena with entertainment coming from talented
performers with autism, with no less than Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez
cheering from the audience.
ASEAN Deputy
Secretary General HE Dr. AKP Mochtan witnessed the event, along with Hans Sy of
SM Prime Holdings, Annie Garcia of SM Supermalls, and other leaders from the
public sector. Delegates from Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand were
also present.
“We consider
this event as one virtual group hug. Once a year, if you have a child with
autism, you can come to MOA Arena without fear of judgment,” said Mona
Magno-Veluz, president of Autism Society of the Philippines (ASP). “The theme
is Philippines A-Ok, which means we
want the Philippines to be okay with autism. We want a more inclusive society
for autistic people where they get equal opportunities.”
“This used
to be just a gathering of parents with autism. Today, since we have grown by
leaps and bounds, we have to be more sophisticated with mounting our event so
we can appeal to this wider audience,” Veluz added.
ASP got a
big boost from the free use of the venue, with volunteers giving their
expertise in production. SM, through its CSR arm SM Cares, has been supporting
Angels Walk since 2007.
“We took the
challenge that Mr. Hans Sy gave us a few years back, to raise the number of
participants for Angels Walk. True to his word, he gave us MOA Arena as a new
venue to accommodate the thousands more who wanted to participate,” said Engr.
Bien C. Mateo, SM VP for Operations and Director for Program on Disability
Affairs. “In 2016, SM Food Retail started training persons with autism in
several branches. There is an intention to continue and expand this program
this year to more branches nationwide.”
Angels Walk was
also held in Davao, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, and other provincial areas. Delegates
came to the MOA Arena from different parts of the country and abroad, coming
from as far as the US and Canada. ASP is part of the ASEAN Autism Network, and
is currently working for accreditation as ASEAN NGO.