TWELVE of the 14 children rescued in Talaingod town, Davao del Norte have now returned to their families and will undergo an aftercare program by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Davao Region.
“Once they are reintegrated back to their families, continuous pa rin ang monitoring sa kanila,” DSWD-Davao project development officer 3 Alma Acera said in a phone interview with SunStar Davao Wednesday, December 5.
Acera said the program will give psychological interventions, recreational activities, and other forms of assistance to the family of the children.
She added that the length of program will be based on the coping mechanism of the child. This means that a child can recover from the previous experience and adapt to the environment.
Acera said they will be coordinating with the other DSWD agencies since the children came from different places in Mindanao.
“Hindi lang dahil na discharge, na-reintegrate sila tapos na. Tinitignan natin yung welfare ng bata na ma ensure mabuti ang kalagayan niya (It does not mean that once they are discharged, our help ends. We also look at the welfare of the children),” she said.
The children were returned to their parents Wednesday after the Regional Trial Court Branch 8 said there is no legal basis to retain the children in the facility of DSWD.
She added that the children consist of 12 girls and two boys. The two boys are still with DSWD as of Wednesday.
The children were rescued after they were rescued from the group of former Bayan Muna representative Satur Ocampo and ACT Teachers Representative France Castro who were to attend the National Solidarity Mission.