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A series of consultation meetings among members of the iGov Team led to the partial web adoption of all national government websites to Administrative Order 39, an order Mandating Government Agencies to Migrate to the Government Web Hosting Service (GWHS) OF THE Department of Science and Technology – ICTO (DOST-ICTO).

The Integrated Government Philippines (iGovPhil) Project is an essential element in the implementation of the e-Government Master Plan of 2013-2016, which aims to improve processes in government to provide better services to both citizens and businesses, as well as promote public participation.

The 470-million-peso iGovPhil Project, launched on 28 June 2012, is one of the latest projects that seek to achieve a higher level of e-governance or the application of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to rationalize government operations and improve the delivery of goods and services to the people.

The Official Website of Philippine Web Accessibility Group now sports a new minimalist design.

The newly redesigned web pages are consistent with its design and column positions all throughout the web site using the 2-column format. The site is now a Content Management System site using WordPress. It also incorporated the latest trend called Responsive Web Design with accessible enhancements using WPZoom Template Theme. It means that the site can be viewed in any screen size and resolution without creating a separate page.

Aside from the responsive look, PWAG now joins the social network bandwagon. The top bar includes Facebook and Twitter links. Each content page also has “Share This:” buttons below for easier sharing to other social networking sites.

The design specifications are:

1. The top most bar has the Skip to, Accessibility, Site Map, Facebook Link, Twitter Link and Search box for easier access.
2. The left column is composed of the PWAG logo which appears at the top left corner. The navigation links of pages are listed below the logo. The list of accessible websites also appear here.



3. The right column is composed of the following:
1. The PWAG name, Slogan and brief introduction.
2. The header bar covers all the important links.
4. The Main Content has the following:
1. Bread crumbs or composed of link pages where the viewer is currently located
2. Anchor links appear on some pages. Clicking it would go directly to the title.
3. Reader Mode link appears on news articles only. Clicking it would direct you to a new page with a reader book style without clutters. This is very useful especially to tablet PCs using e-book formats.
4. Content Area
5. Bottom Links
6. Copyright and Email Link at the bottom

PWAG members are now encouraged to submit articles and special features by clicking at the Login link at the footer in to their WordPress Account.

Aside from complying with all the checkpoints of Web Design Accessibility Recommendations, PWAG also passed the XHTML 1.0 Strict Document Type, Color Contrast and Web Content Accessibility Guideline 2.0 Level AA (according to AChecker).

Web Content Accessibility Guideline 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) was released in 2008. According to their official website,

WCAG 2.0 succeeds Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10], which was published as a W3C Recommendation May 1999. Although it is possible to conform either to WCAG 1.0 or to WCAG 2.0 (or both), the W3C recommends that new and updated content use WCAG 2.0. The W3C also recommends that Web accessibility policies reference WCAG 2.0.

Produced by the World Wide Web Consortium as part of their Web Accessibility Initiative, their goal is to develop guidelines to make Web content accessible for people with disabilities. In particular, the WCAG WG will publish the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 as a W3C Recommendation. WCAG 2.0 is categorized into four guiding design principles namely,

1. Perceivable – Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.
2. Operable – User interface components and navigation must be operable.
3. Understandable – Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.
4. Robust – Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

Majority of the guidelines specified in WCAG 2.0 already appeared in WCAG 1.0. On the other hand, WCAG 2.0 has significant number of additions compared to the first guideline. Quite a number of checkpoints were fully expanded in WCAG 2.0 including sensory controls, use of CAPTCHA and timing adjustable. Generally, WCAG 2.0 applies broadly to more advanced technologies; is easier to use and understand; and is more precisely testable with automated testing and human evaluation. The fundamental issues of web accessibility are the same, though there are some differences in the approach and requirements between WCAG 1.0 and WCAG 2.0. WCAG 1.0 marks level of conformance as Levels A, AA and AAA while WCAG 2.0 merits them as Success Criteria A, AA and AAA.

However, this newer guideline appeared one year after PWAG's Web Design Accessibility Recommendation (WDAR) was published (2007) and more than five years (2003) since UN funded Manila Accessible ICT Design Recommendations were crafted. Therefore, WDAR was not immediately revised to attune with the provisions of the latest international guideline. The Philippine recommendations would most likely fare below the international standards.

W3C's FAQ page says that most websites that conform to WCAG 1.0 should not require significant changes in order to conform to WCAG 2.0, and some will not need any changes at all. So for those familiar with WCAG 1.0, it will take a little time to learn the new approach of how the WCAG 2.0 documents provide guidance.

Here is the analysis of comparison between WDAR and WCAG 2.0:

1. Manila ICT/PWAG Web Design Accessibility Recommendations (WDAR) only has a total of 23 checkpoints including the three additional checkpoints.
2. WCAG 2.0 has a total of 61 checkpoints distributed into four Principles. Principle 1 (Perceivable) has four Guidelines and 22 Checkpoints. Principle 2 (Operable) has four Guidelines and 20 Checkpoints, Principle 3 (Understandable) has three Guidelines and 17 Checkpoints and Principle 4 (Robust) has two Guidelines and two Checkpoints.
3. WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion Level A has 24 Checkpoints. Success Criterion Level AA has 11 Checkpoints. Success Criterion Level AAA has 26 Checkpoints.
4. Out of the 61 checkpoints, 38 of those checkpoints have a near equal or satisfied the Manila ICT/WDAR checkpoints or 62% compatibility.
5. Based on Success Criterion Levels, WDAR has a near equivalent Checkpoints in the following: Level A – 18; Level AA – 10 ; Level AAA – 10.
6. Of the 23 WCAG 2.0 checkpoints with no equivalent WDAR, 6 are audio related recordings including sign language; 1 is web standard issue; 13 is about keyboard inputs, error trapping and prevention and 3 for language related issues.
7. Eleven WCAG 2.0 checkpoints satisfied two or more WDAR checkpoints.
8. Non-conforming checkpoints/recommendations are as follows:
        a. Manila ICT/WDAR recommends "D" link while WCAG 2.0 totally dropped "longdesc" or "D" link attributes.
        b. Manila ICT/WDAR does NOT recommend the use of frames while WCAG do but with limitations.
        c. Manila ICT/WDAR recommends the use of Accessibility Statement while WCAG 2.0 adds this as optional.
        d. Manila ICT/WDAR recommends the use of Accesskeys while WCAG 2.0 totally dropped it. 
        e. Manila ICT/WDAR Maturity Stage 1-6 has NO near equal WCAG 2.0 checkpoint.
    

Based on the analysis; WDAR missed out six out of 24 checkpoints in Level A, one out of 11 checkpoints in Level AA and 16 out of 26 Checkpoints in Level AAA. On the other hand, five out of seven Maturity Stage 1 Checkpoints have equivalent WCAG 2.0 checkpoints. 14 out of 15 Maturity Stage 2 Checkpoints have equivalent WCAG 2.0 checkpoints with one checkpoint (use of Accesskeys) no longer required.

The compatibility rate between WCAG 2.0 and WDAR increased to 62% from the 37% rate between WCAG 1.0 and WDAR. This is significant because WDAR's Maturity Stage 1 and 2 only touched majority of Levels A and AA. WDAR's compliance or compatibility with international standards improved dramatically with the introduction of WCAG 2.0. However, PWAG emphasized that full accessibility compliance means the website must reach the Maturity Stage 3 which lists down the remaining WCAG checkpoints (both WCAG 1.0 and 2.0) that were not satisfied in the first two stages.

Still, further improvements and updates are necessary for WDAR in order to be consistent with the international standards. The remaining six checkpoints in Level A and obe in Level AA should be given due consideration in the next update of WDAR.

View the Table of Comparison between WCAG 2.0 and WDAR with WCAG as basis. You may also view the Table of Comparison between WDAR and WCAG 2.0 with WDAR as basis.

The Philippine Web Accessibility Group releases its Official List of Accessible Websites in the Philippines as of October 2012.

These are the sites that were evaluated and passed PWAG’s Web Design Accessibility Recommendation and at the same time maintained its accessibility within the required time frame of more than three years.

As a government-mandated organization of web designers tasked to monitor and evaluated accessibility of websites, PWAG is duty-bound to publish and update the public about the status of government and non-government websites. PWAG is also tasked to monitor the compliance of websites previously evaluated as accessible.

The Complete List with clickable links is posted on the left sidebar of this official page. The list is divided according to the following categories:

1. List of Accessible Websites – further categorized as Government and Non-government Websites;
2. Delisted Sites – sites that were previously evaluated as accessible but recent revisions/overhaul made their sites fail in accessibility tests;
3. Sites Already Shut Down – sites previously evaluated but are already taken down by their owners

Based on the list, there are nine government websites and twelve non-government sites which passed the web accessibility guidelines. Five sites failed in accessibility testing while two sites were discontinued by their owners. PWAG will try its best to update the list every two months.

Site owners are encouraged to copy and paste the Accessibility Seal on their websites to indicate that their sites passed PWAG’s Web Accessibility Recommendation. The logos can be downloaded here.

Philippine Web Accessibility President Jojo I. Esposa conducted a web accessibility seminar to information technology staff and officials of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) last June 19, 2012 at their office in EDSA, Quezon City.

The half-day activity was part of the department’s thrust in providing unhampered access to information even for those who are physically challenged. Ma’am Maria Elena Robosa, Officer In-charge, Electronic and Data Processing Division of DILG spearheaded the event and personally invited Esposa to conduct the seminar. Ma’am Robosa is also one of the regular attendees of National Council on Disability Affairs Sub-committee on Information and Communications Technology representing DILG.

Aside from DILG, some IT officials of Philippine Information Agency also participated in the seminar. Robosa hoped that their website would soon pass the web accessibility recommendations of PWAG. DILG’s website developers and content managers also expect the site would be accessible in time for the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation week celebration this third week of July.

DILG is the top level government agency tasked to supervise all local government units (lgu) from the provinces down to barangay level. It also advises the Philippine President all promulgation of policies, rules, regulations and other issuances on the general supervision over local governments and on public order and safety.

“Making DILG website accessible would serve as a good model for all LGUs to follow and duplicate.”, Ma’am Robosa said. For his visual evaluation, Esposa said that the DILG website has already complied with most of the accessibility recommendations except for the ALT text which is considered as a single most important aspect.

DILG’s official website is www.dilg.gov.ph while PIA’s website is www.pia.gov.ph.