by Zac Sarao, trainee, INQUIRER.net, 22 Dec 2020
MANILA, Philippines — The Child Rights Network (CRN) is urging the Quezon City government to review its ordinance banning minors from loitering in public areas, saying confinement of 24 hours a day would harm a child’s mental and physical health.
“Rather than a punitive approach, the QC government should strengthen preventive and protective measures, such as, online sessions on covid-19 prevention for those found loitering in public places with no valid purpose/s,” child rights group said in a statement on Monday.
“While we recognize deeply that the raging pandemic requires all citizens to practice stringent health protocols, it should not translate to a situation wherein we confine children 24 hours a day and seven days a week, without even a minute of legroom. This will soon prove to be detrimental to their physical and mental health,” CRN added.
Also, CRN said the local government should consult child rights experts such as the Philippine Pediatric Society, Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, World Health Organization guidelines while reviewing the said ordinance.
The group, meanwhile, said the Quezon City ordinance violates Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that “States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.”
It explained that children’s rights include “accessible space and time for play, free from adult control and management,” and “space and opportunities to play outdoors unaccompanied in a diverse and challenging physical environment, with easy access to supportive adults, when necessary.”
Under the city government’s Child Protection Hours ordinance, individuals aged below 18 years old must remain at home 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Children are banned from loitering in public areas and even commercial establishments such as malls and theaters, even if they are accompanied by a guardian. —
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
