An Open Letter from Nato

The Autism Society Philippines will be holding its elections on October 25, Saturday. This is part of a series of open letters written by the outgoing trustees for the society's membership. To the society's servant leaders, we thank you for your service!

Dear Friends,

It is with gratefulness that I am sharing this letter. Grateful, because even in our limited time and capacity we have been able to contribute to the PWD advocacy, particularly for our sub-sector for persons with autism (PWA). Secondly, I am grateful that I have met such committed men and women who have done so much not just for their own children, but for the whole sub-sector as well.

Mr. Nato Agbayani

I became a member of ASP to fight for a son. I have not done as much as I could have, but I know more mothers and fathers will come to continue the fight. I know that the task is not complete, but I believe, somehow in our own little way – we can continue fighting.

I thank the Board for understanding our needs as a family. Thank you for going on inspite of and despite of our physical limitations and concerns for livelihood. Rest assured that as we went on with our business, we continued sharing our thoughts, our feelings and our lives for the advocacy.

It is our fervent prayer that more parents and self-advocates would take up the fight and would not tire. In our private moments as a family, we will continually say a little prayer that God would inspire many more for His “angel’s” cause. All of you have given us the strength to raise our child as a member of our family and as a member of the community.

We will always be advocates, no matter where we are or what we are doing.

Sincerely yours,
Nato Agbayani

About the contributor: Fortunato R. Agbayani A proud parent of Justin an 11-year old child with autism, Nato is the President of ASP Project 3-Quezon City Chapter and an officer of the QC-PWD Federation. He is a 2006 World Bank Panibagong Paraan Awardee & a perennial advocate of many causes from autism advocacy, compassionate economy, social enterprise, rural development, food security & self-sufficiency, MDG, good governance & transparency, bridging the digital divide & universal access to basic government services. He also serves as the ‎Chief Operating Officer of Globaltronics, Inc., the country's pioneer in digital outdoor billboards.