AS HALL of Famer in the Child-Friendly Awards for Highly Urbanized Cities, Davao City has been recognized for its sustained projects and programs that look out for the best interest of the child.
The basics for children welfare are not just provided, there are also protection mechanisms and most of all, venues for participation by the children themselves.
Protection of the Child One of the fundamental rights of the children is to be protected from any violence, exploitation, abuse and discrimination.
With the city’s strive to achieve protective environment for the children, it has successfully institutionalized social protection programs and established seven residential care and drop-in facilities by the CSSDO including the children’s village, Bahay Pag-Asa in Bago Oshiro, a residential care for Children In Conflict with the Law (CICL) and Balay Dangupan in Buhangin, a 24-hour shelter care institution that serves as a temporary substitute home for survivors/victims of physical and sexual abuses.
Other social protection programs are Quick Response Team for Children’s, Sidlakan Center for Women and their Children, Alima Development Center, Lingap Center for Mentally Challenged Children, and Paginhawaan Drop-in Center.
Davao City was chosen by the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council as one of the pilot areas for the localization of the Comprehensive National Juvenile Intervention Program.
Participation of the child to be involved in the community is every child’s right.
“We acknowledge the potential of children in decision making, sharing ideas and participating as citizens as actor of change. We made them feel included in the system,” Aquino said adding that child participation is provided for in the Davao City Children’s Welfare Code.
In the village of Buhangin, Roquella Sumampong and Raven Mikaela Cabahug, both 16 years old and Grade 10 students in Bernardo D. Carpio National High School, who also served as the village’s child representatives last year, attested that their experience as leaders in their area contributed a lot in their growth as a person.
“It is such a very good experience (being a child representative), acting as the voice of the children in our barangay (village) made more aware of the issues in our area, the city and the country as a whole,” Cabahug shared.
Sumampong, for her part, said that as a representative they also make sure that all voices of the children were heard and no child feels excluded in the community’s endeavors.
“We have also cluster heads to cater those. Being a child representative is not an easy task but I am so happy because I was able to be exposed on sensible issues in our society,” Sumampong said adding that her duty pushed them to be more responsible.
The concrete participation of the city’s children in the sharing and discussion of their concerns is being aired of and presented in the DCCWC and the Barangay Councils for the Protection of Children.
“Their participation is even more strengthened in the Children’s Congress,” Bermudo said.
The Congress is a multi-sectoral gathering of stakeholders from academe, community based and center based out-of-school children, Indigenous and Moro people, Children with disability, members of children’s organization and others.
In 2015, a total of 5,560 children joined the congress.
For the Pag-asa Youth Association Program, officers and members were considered to have “become advocates in upholding their rights, become self-reliant and self-sufficient in leading socio-cultural and recreational activities and served as peer counselors to other members who need moral support and guidance.”
The villages of Sasa, Mintal, and Buhangin are considered as the country’s model villages for children.
Nerissa Yu, she said in an interview with the village secretary, that for a village to be considered as child-friendly, it must at least have a community playground, gulayan sa barangay, play area for children, a counseling room and breast feeding area, among others.
“We have a holistic approach, we cover everything, health, environment, family,” Yu said.
The village has a total of P37.3-million budget for children.
The Barangay Council for Protection of Children helps in ensuring that the city’s programs were properly delivered at the village level.
But Yu emphasized that one of their most successful programs for the children is the “Road to Diversion” stories of former rugby boys now Rugby Football players known as the “Buhangin Falcons.”
“Before they were CICLs and out-of-school children, but now they went back to their studies, became scholars and are already work for a living,” Yu said.
Yu noted that the group started with only 30 players, now it has ballooned to 70, most are encouraged by the success of the “Falcons.”
Other programs of Buhangin village for the children are skills and self enhancement training program for CICLs, Clean-up Drive Food for Work program, Welding NCII & Automotive NC II Scholarship Program, Gabay Intervention Center which caters and assists to the needs of the differently-abled children.
“As a model barangay, we became a good example for other barangays in other cities and municipalities, now the challenge is how to increase the number of model barangays for children’s protection and welfare,” Yu said.
At present, CSSDO is gearing towards launching next year the “Search for Child-friendly Barangay” in the city.
It also pushes for the passage of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Children Welfare Code, Barangay Children Association Ordinance and Child Protection System.
Asked what are the measures made in defending the title as the Most Child-friendly City in the country, Aquino said the city has prepared an action and development plan for 2017 and beyond.
“We would like to emphasize that we are not focusing on defending the title but more of just performing our functions. Because even without the award we will still be upholding the rights and welfare of our children,” Aquino added.
Aquino also noted that Davao City bagged such recognition as the city was able to sustain the implementation of programs and projects effectively.
As Davao took pride and honor as the country’s child friendliest city, it is but also imperative for the City Government to take the responsibility to influence and motivate other LGUs, to push for anything that will benefit the children in the hope that collectively, the Philippines will be a full bloom child-friendly country.
The task may seem quite hard but none of these are farfetched, for the future of our city, country lies on the children’s tiny, innocent hands.