THE Davao City Special Needs Intervention Center for Children (DCSNICC) said that 1,200 children have been catered in the institution since it began operations.
Melody Pardillo, center director of DCSNICC, said that about 1,200 children have been catered in the facility but they officially enrolled about 1,114 children and they are continually accepting enrollees who want to avail of their services, she said during an interview with the Davao City Disaster Radio on January 22, 2026.
Pardillo shared that 80 percent of the children under their care are on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), while the remaining 20 percent are composed of children with learning, intellectual, and physical disabilities, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), hearing and language impairments, among others.
She said that families seeking to avail of the program are required to present a certificate of indigence, as the office aims to ensure that beneficiaries do not have the financial capacity to access private therapy centers and that they are residents of Davao City.
Pardillo added that the center only accepts children aged zero to six years old.
Services offered
Pardillo said that the center has two in-house developmental pediatricians who evaluate and manage children’s behavior free of charge to establish proper diagnoses.
She said that DCSNICC provides physical, aqua, occupational, and speech therapy for children.
The institution also offers special needs education through its teachers, as well as audiology services for hearing assessments. She added that social welfare services are also provided to families in need.
“Gitawag nato nga one-stop shop ang atoang gihatag na serbisyo diri sa center (We call the services we provide here at the center a one-stop shop),” she said.
Pardillo said that the center’s staff is composed of two developmental pediatricians, one audiologist, one aqua therapist, five physical therapists, one occupational therapist, one speech pathologist, and 14 Special Needs Education (SNED) teachers.
She added that the center aims to hire psychologists and nurses in the first quarter of 2026 as additional staff, adding that they plan to hire five more occupational therapists due to the high number of children on the waiting list for occupational therapy, as well as one additional speech pathologist.
What is DCSNICC?
DCSNICC was established by the Davao City local government unit under the auspices of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), through City Ordinance 0230-20, authored by Councilor Antoinette Principe and approved in 2020.
The center was formally inaugurated and began operations on March 21, 2025.
The project was initiated by then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte (now Vice President), and its development was continued by current Acting City Mayor Sebastian Duterte. RGP