Tuesday, March 25, 2008 Bacolod marks girl child week
THE City Council has declared March 23 to 29 this year as 'Girl Child Week' in Bacolod.
The approved resolution was pursuant to memorandum circular 2008-15 dated March 10, 2008 where the Department of Interior and Local Government cited Proclamation 759 issued March 8, 1996, which declares every fourth week of March as the "Protection and Gender-Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week".
The resolution proposed by Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue encourages barangays to engage in continuing efforts for the protection of children to underscore their vulnerability and needs.
Bacolod, through the Bacolod City Gender and Development Council, has marked March as the National Women's Month and has undertaken various programs to address the issues on child abuse, trafficking and child labor in partnership with various agencies and non-government organizations.
The resolution stressed the need to provide every girl below 18 years of age with equal opportunities and adequate protection to prepare her for her role in community development. It also manifests the Philippines' commitment to the Declaration of the World Summit for Children, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Beijing Declaration.
The national theme for this year is "Karapatan ng Batang Babae Pahalagahan, Higit sa Panahon ng Disaster".
This is to highlight the special needs of girl-children in situation of emergencies and disasters such that all emergency preparedness and management strategies should incorporate the development and protection needs of girl children to minimize, if not eliminate, the chance of becoming victims of abuse in the midst of uncertainty during emergencies.
The Gender and Development (GAD) Code of Bacolod City, also authored by Batapa-Sigue, highlights Bacolod's policy to ensure that both women and men, including girls and boys, benefit equally and participate directly in the development efforts of its various departments and their full participation in the development process, in particular programs, projects and activities that will give opportunity for women to advance their status, and promote women's empowerment for their effective participation as equal partners of men in nation-building.
The Code recognizes the importance of ensuring fundamental equality before the law of women and men as guaranteed under the Philippine Constitution, and affirms that both women and men shall equally participate as agents in the development efforts pursuant to the mandates of international human rights law and covenants, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action, and the UN Millennium Declaration, which adopted the eight Millennium Development Goals, of which the Philippines is a signatory.
