A woman born without calves or feet has gone viral after taking to Facebook to say she was barred from entering a government office for wearing shorts, a clothing choice made necessary by her congenital orthopedic disability.
Nancy Boroc, 27, posted about the incident online on Tuesday, the same day it occurred in her hometown of Calbayog City in Samar.
In her post, Boroc explains that she went to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) office in Calbayog City to submit a document for her sister. But before she and her boyfriend were able to go inside, they were stopped at the door by a security guard.
The security guard allegedly told Boroc: “People wearing shorts are not allowed inside because of a new memorandum.”
“Even me [a person with disability]?” she replied.
“Yes, you are not allowed inside, even if you wear shoes,” he replied in what Boroc described as rude fashion.
“He knows I don’t have feet and I can only wear shorts because I’m a PWD (person with a disability). How can I wear long pants? What can they not understand?” she asked in the Facebook post that has now been shared more than 5,000 times.
Coconuts Manila spoke with Boroc by phone earlier today, and she said it was apparent that the guard was not in the mood to help her.
“When we went there and he didn’t allow us inside, we weren’t able to ask for help from the other employees. So we went home first and then we went back to the BIR office at around 1pm to try our luck again. When we went back in the afternoon, the same guard [who barred us from entering] allowed us to go in,” she recalled.
Confused by his change of heart, Boroc was even more baffled when she entered to find some people inside wearing shorts and slippers.
While the experience was frustrating, she chose not to file a formal complaint with the BIR. The office in Calbayog City has yet to reach out to her, despite her post going viral. Numbers listed for the BIR on their website appear to be disconnected.
“There was really nothing I could do,” she said. “But I wrote about my experience to raise awareness about what PWDs [persons with disabilities] often have to go through.”
Boroc’s Facebook friends were equally frustrated at what happened. “You should have been exempted [from that rule]. How can you wear long pants?” wrote a netizen named Malajog Post.
Jackie Asia told Borac, “Let’s speak to that guard. I’m mad.”
“That guard is rude,” wrote Anaruby Magan.
Have you heard of incidents similar to what Boroc experienced? Tell us by leaving a comment below or tweeting to @CoconutsManila.
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