Child-protection councils set up in 24,000 barangays

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has helped set up Local Councils for the Protection of Children (LCPCs) in 24,093 barangays nationwide (covering 54 provinces, 101 cities and 963 towns) as of June 2009, as part of its heightened campaign to uphold the welfare and rights of Filipino minors.

DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno said the DILG conducted seminars in these local government units (LGUs) to familiarize barangay officials, mayors and other local chief executives on setting up and strengthening these councils and to make them effective instruments in promoting children’s rights and implementing child-friendly programs.

These moves, according to Puno, are within the ambit of Article 87 of Presidential Decree 603 of the Child and Youth Welfare Code as well as Section 15 of Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which both provide for the establishment and strengthening of the LCPCs, down to the barangay level.

The DILG, on Puno’s watch, has issued guidelines to monitor the functionality of LCPCs in all local government units nationwide.

“We have set up the local councils in 24,093 barangays as of June this year to help make our LGUs child-friendly localities,” Puno said during the Liga ng mga Barangay Congress held recently in Surigao City.

As it facilitated the formation of LCPCs, the DILG also called on local chief executives to support its training initiatives on the barangay human rights program, which seeks to empower vulnerable sectors like women and children in pursuing justice through heightened awareness about their basic rights and the country’s judicial system.

The DILG also ordered the establishment of Women and Children Protection Desks (WCPDs) in every Philippine National Police (PNP) municipal station in the country to help victims of exploitation and abuse, particularly children and women, seek help from authorities.

There are now 1,830 WCPDs in police stations nationwide.

In a recent memorandum circular, Puno said DILG’s training on human rights also aimed at enhancing the proficiency of barangay officials, particularly the member of the Lupon Tagapamayapa, “in performing their mandated tasks and responsibilities toward good local governance.”

The training program on human rights at the barangay level, Puno noted, is being conducted to ensure the smooth implementation of the department’s Local Government Human Rights Program, which is designed to ensure the accountability of local authorities in the protection and promotion of human rights in their respective localities.

The Local Government Human Rights Program is a flagship initiative of the DILG under Puno’s watch.

Puno said teams of DILG trainers had been organized in all capital towns and cities in every region to spearhead the trainings, which were conducted in partnership with other stakeholders in the locality.

Puno, who is concurrent chairman of the National Police Commission (Napolcom), said that besides setting up a WCPD in every town, the PNP, on his orders, will also establish a Women and Children Protection Center in every region in the country as well as counterpart centers at the provincial and city levels.

Puno said these centers and WCPDs would be headed by, and staffed with, female police officers to provide women and children a more comfortable and relaxed setting when seeking assistance from the police.

Unlike a typical police station, these women- and children-friendly centers will have a more relaxed, “home-like” ambiance, brightly colored walls and even temporary shelters for distraught women and kids. They will also handle cases of violence and abuse committed against women and children, including trafficking and exploitation as defined under Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2004.

Puno said the establishment of these centers was not only in accordance with RA 9262, but also demonstrated the importance the DILG and PNP had placed on family-related concerns and these institutions’ responsiveness to gender-sensitivity issues. –Daily Tribune