WITH the month of November institutionalized by the City of Baguio for the annual celebration of the National Children’s Month in accordance with the mandate of Republic Act 10661 encouraging all Local Government Units to observe and participate in the activities and simple rites included therein, a proposed ordinance has been filed by City Councilor Lilia Fariñas to establish the search for the best child-friendly police station in the City of Baguio and providing for the mechanics and guidelines for its implementation.
The proposed measure pointed out that the search will likewise give due recognition to the contribution that the police force plays in the protection of children. It added that the program is cognizant of the vital role that the policemen and policewomen play in their participation with the City Council for the Protection of Children (CCPC) and thus the launch of the search for the best child-friendly police station in the city.
The search program incorporates the following aims of promoting the value of kindness and proper attitude of the police force in managing children, giving recognition to the police station that worked well concerning the protection of children in their respective areas of jurisdiction and responsibility, enhancing the teamwork between and among the personnel in all the police stations and encouraging the said police stations to provide programs and services to the young in a child-friendly manner.
As far as mechanics of the program goes the proposed ordinance mentions that all of the ten (10) police stations in the City of Baguio are automatically made part of the search, judges who will be chosen by the City Council will convene every first quarter of the year and to go around the police stations in order to conduct a review and come up with a rating in accordance with the set criteria, the Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD) shall assist all the stations to ensure that the programs for the children are delivered in a child-friendly manner, there shall only be one winner that will be chosen in the said search, cash prizes await the winner which shall be determined by the CCPC, along with the consolation prizes as may be allowed by available funds of the CCPC and including the issuance of certificates of recognition/ commendations to all the personnel of the winning police station. The mechanics also provide that the expenses to be incurred relative to the search will be charged against the funds of the CCPC while the awarding of the winner/s will be done during the culminating activity of the Children’s Month.
On the other hand, the criteria set for the search includes the annual plan versus the accomplishment which will be 30% with bonus points given for accomplishments that are not included in the plan, protocol in dealing with children observed (client-feedback form) which is 20 percent, presence of child-friendly room (for investigation) which is 15 percent, presence of separate comfort rooms for males and females which comprises another 15 percent, attendance of police personnel in child-related trainings and seminars which is 10 percent and presence of a breastfeeding corner at the police station which is 10 percent.
The proposed search for the best child-friendly police station will be launched for CY 2017 with 2016 as the year for the different police stations to observe the mandate of the proposed legislative measure concerning the protection of children.