DSWD chief lauds Benguet for summit

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet –- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DENR) Regional Director Leonardo Reynoso lauded the province for taking child abuse in the open.

He said the recent Child Welfare Stakeholders forum is a first in the region, to identify its causes and discuss ways to prevent it.

Reynoso said other areas have chosen to focus on other aspects of child welfare like malnutrition, education and daycare.

“It is the first of its kind that is initiated by a provincial government unit, most of the forum we have are at the initiative of the DSWD,” he said.

Reynoso said it is not that most areas do not know about the dangers of child abuse it is just a matter of putting things in priority, some area prefer to focus on other aspects of child care.

The summit was themed “Strengthening partnerships for protecting children and supporting families,” and attended by representatives from municipalities, line agencies, police and the National Economic and Development Authority.

Reynoso presented factors of abuse, as well as measures on how to prevent them in the home and in the community stressing the role of the parents in the process of child rearing.

“We should start at home; it is where the caring process begins,” he said.

DSWD research shows most of abuse against children happen when both parents are away as well as a trusted elder, sibling or guardian.

Usually, the assault is done when the child is alone, when parents are at work and out of the home.

Here, child abuse cases are pegged to reach 117 cases from the period of January 2011 to June2012 with La Trinidad logging the highest number of cases with 62 percent and Tublay with the least at two percent.

For the province, the study reveals 59 percent of perpetrators are scot-free while only 33 percent are languishing in jail, and eight percent of abusers are at large.