19/02/2026
๐๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ญ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฐ, ๐ค๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ๐จโ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ก๐๐ฒ,
๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฆ๐๐ฒ, ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐๐๐ฒ;
๐๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ, ๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ค๐๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐
๐๐ง๐ค๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐จ, ๐๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ง ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐-๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐.
๐๐๐๐ | TSU moves toward deaf-ready campus, launches 3-day Filipino Sign Language training
Strengthening its commitment to inclusive education, Tarlac State University (TSU) officially began its three-day university-wide capacity-building training to promote Filipino Sign Language (FSL) and improve accessibility for the deaf community at the University Hotel, Lucinda Campus, February 18.
Spearheaded by the TSU International, Differently-abled, Indigenous, and Marginalized Student Services (TSU-IDIMSS) and in partnership with the Kakamay Movement Organization, the training will run until February 20, focusing on applied functional FSL centered on academic and administrative transactions.
Themed โBreaking Barriers, Building Access: Toward a Deaf-Ready University,โ the training specifically aims to promote deaf inclusivity inside the university, address communication gaps, and fuel participants with practical FSL skills.
Speaking during the opening program, Dr. Jasper Jay N. Mendoza, Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA), underscored the significance of the initiative as more than a skills-based training, describing it as a step towards building a culture of understanding and accessibility within the university.
โHands are not mere instruments of gestures. Hands can reach divides, hands can shatter barriers, and hands can build roads where none existed before,โ he said.
Mendoza also noted that the collaboration reflects TSUโs broader mission to embed inclusivity into its academic and social frameworks.
โThis partnership reflects our shared vision for inclusivity, innovation, and social responsibilityโa synergy that will open doors for students and stakeholders to learn, lead, and make a difference,โ he added.
Kakamay Movement Organization Founder General Gabinera Palma, on the other hand, expressed his excitement in witnessing the result of the training after seeing the strong participation from the university, saying that genuine inclusion begins when institutions are willing to both speak and listen using the language of the deaf.
โAfter the program, I expect them to start communicating with the deaf people. That is the main goal. When I say communicate, itโs to speak and to listen. So, we can start breaking the barriers and start opening the doors for education,โ Palma shared in an interview with the TSU Office of Public Affairs.
Palma also described the partnership as a way of giving back to the local community by ensuring that educational institutions take an active role in uplifting deaf individuals through access and understanding.
The training finally took place this month after TSU and the Kakamay Movement Organization signed a memorandum of agreement last year, December 2, 2025, which covers a series of free FSL training sessions, workshops, and awareness programs designed to strengthen deaf support systems across the university.
Beyond the campus, the Kakamay Movement Organization continues to expand its advocacy nationwide, including recent partnerships with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute (UPRI).
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Report by Nicolle Garcia
Photo from the Tarlac State University - TSU International, Differently-abled, Indigenous, and Marginalized Student Services (TSU-IDIMSS)
