The City Government of Davao, through the Davao City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and the Davao City Health Office (CHO), was awarded the Gawad Edukampyon for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) for the Highly Urbanized Cities Category on June 3, 2022 at the Araneta Center in Quezon City.
The award was given by the Department of Education (DepEd) - in partnership with other public and private stakeholders - and received by CSWDO Head Atty. Marlisa Gallo, CSWDO Preschoolers and Children’s Concern Division (PSCCD) Chief Gilda Salvaña, CSWDO PSCCD Officer Ms. Elena Gabaton, CHO Head Dr. Ashley Lopez, CHO Head of Tropical Diseases and Nutrition Division Ms. Elizabeth Banzon, and CHO’s Ms. Lynette Dimaisip.
In an interview with the City Information Office Tuesday, Gallo said that the award was won after an assessment of the city’s daycare budget, the number of qualified workers and personnel, early childhood capability-building activities, children’s health and nutrition programs, and partnership between government (GOs) and non-government organizations (NGOs)—to which the awarding body gave the City Government of Davao the highest scores.
“Didto gi-recognize nila ang atoang accomplishment sa atoang daycare. So kabalo man ta na kung muingon ta’g ECCD program, ang lead agency ani, partner gyud ni si CSWDO og si City Health Office kay dili man ni purely education lang ang ginatan-aw nato, apil man diri ang health and nutrition sa atoang mga bata ... So, sa Highly Urbanized category, si City of Davao—siya tong pinakataas og score nga nakuha didto (They recognized our accomplishments in our daycare. We know that in terms of ECCD program, the CSWDO and City Health Office are really in partnership because we are not only looking at education alone but also the health and nutrition of our children ... So, in the Highly Urbanized category, Davao City received got the highest score),” Gallo said.
As the city racks up its second award for early childhood programs, other LGUs are now looking at Davao City as a benchmark for ECCD systems. According to Gallo, neighboring cities have come to observe and learn from the city’s daycare and early childhood programs.
“Naa nay naga-adto diri sa atoa kung gina-unsa gyud daw nato ang ECCD, mostly sa atoang neighboring LGUs ... Unique man gud atoang Davao kay naa tay kadtong ginatawag na child-minding. Unya naa pud tay Balay Pasilungan ... Nabutang na siya sa Marilog, Salumay Marilog, diin mahimo siyaog kanang temporary facility para sa mga IP na magskwela so mura siya og boarding house nil ana magstay sila dinha Monday to Firday ... So ginatutukan n apud nato ni karon kay hapit na man ta mag face-to-face (Some came here to learn how we do our ECCD, mostly from our neighboring LGUs ... Davao City is unique because we have what we call child-minding. And we also have Balay Pasilungan ... which is located in Salumay, Marilog, which serves as a temporary shelter for children from Indigenous communities wherein they can stay from Monday to Friday. So we are now looking into this since we are close to resuming face-to-face classes),” she said.
The CSWDO Head largely credits partners from the private sector for their continued support to the city’s ECCD programs and bared plans of intensifying partnerships with NGOs to further improve the daycare system.
She added, “Dako kaayo ni siya og tabang maong nagapasalamat ko sa atong mga partners pag-abot na sa ECCD programs, labi na ang mga private sectors kay dako gyud kaayo sila’g tabang sa atoang ECCD. In fact, ang direction nato karon, kami sa CSWDO, is to really engage the participation sa atoang private sector; diha sa pagmaintain, sa pagpawapo pa gyud sa atong ECCD programs ... I-engage gyud nato pag-ayo ani ang atoang GO and NGO partnership ‘no. Kinahanglan gyud ni na magka-align ‘tang tanan. (They have been a very big help that is why I am thanking our partners in the ECCD programs, particularly from the private sector, because they have given a lot of help to our ECCD. In fact, our direction as of the moment is to really engage the participation of our private sector; in terms of maintaining and improving our ECCD programs. Let us really engage in our GO and NGO partnership. All of us must be aligned.) CIO