CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)– “Ang mga bata ang pag-asa ng bayan [Our children are the hope of our nation], so we have to invest in children,” said Ma. Ruth Estrellieta L. Marayag, planning officer of the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC).
During a three-day capacity building for the Regional Committee for the Welfare of Children (RCWC)-10 members on October 23–26, 2023, in Mambajao, Camiguin, Marayag emphasized the need for the local government units to have an advocacy plan for the children.
The goal is to have a child-friendly, child-sensitive society or community for children.
“Bawat bata [every child] would be able to enjoy their rights to survive, to develop, to be protected from all forms of exploitation, violence, and abuse, and to exercise their right to participate. We want them to be part of governance, part of the decision-making process,” she said.
Ivy Amor C. Urbina of the City Social Welfare Development Office, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, shared that she is grateful for the opportunity to get the training from CWC.
“I am very grateful to attend this three-day training on four legacies for children because I have been working in child welfare for 20 years, but I was not able to attend this kind of training after hearing about the four legacies,” she said.
After completing the training, Urbina shared that there is a need to look into the situation of the vulnerable children in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.
“We have been implementing programs almost the same way from the past years to the next without really asking if what we have been doing is what the children really need, so by really going through the process of situational analysis, all the children we have in the city can come up with better programs that are more appropriate for their needs and could be rights-based in our approach to working with children,” she said.
Meanwhile, Alvin Dumduma of the ChildFund Project Sustainable Program for Education, Knowledge, and Advocacy said they continue their support to ensure the advancement of the rights of the children.
“We really appreciate the efforts of the government in terms of protecting the children, but it is also a call for everyone, especially in different sectors like NGOs and civil society, to support and align our advocacies and programs in the mandated roadmap of the government, the creation of four legacies of children in our different municipalities, provinces, and cities. Hopefully, these four legacies or the different plans for our children will be realized through countrywide implementation,” he said.
Republic Act 4881 mandates all LGUs to create a local council for the protection of children and to come up with the Four Legacies of Children.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Regional Director Ramel F. Jamen shared, “Mandato sa DSWD ang protection sa mga kabataan [The mandate of DSWD is the protection of children].”
The capability building, which included the national government agencies in Region 10, local government units through their local social welfare development offices, and non-government organizations, reflected the unity in ensuring the protection of children.
“Once ang atong mga intervention nagtabang sa kalamboan sa kabataan, equally saying nga ma-ensure pud ang ilang future, mahimo na pud silang mature, sila na pud mangulo ug mag-lead sa atong katilingban [Once our intervention will help the development of our children, equally saying that we can also ensure their future, they will become mature, they will also lead in society],” the director said.
The Four Legacies of Children include the Local Development Plan for Children, Local Investment Programme for Children, Local Code for Children, and Local State of Children Report, guided by four principles: non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, rights to survival and development, and respect for the views of the child. (JMOR/PIA-10)
The Local State of Children, the Local Code for Children, the Local Investment Program for Children, and the Local Development Plan for Children are the Four Legacies of Children that the Council for the Welfare of Children shared during the three-day capability building for the members of the Regional Committee for the Welfare of Children under the direction of the Department of Social Welfare and Development-10. (JME/PIA-10/Camiguin)
