Mayor Guiani highlights children in 2017 report

CHILDREN’S WELFARE --- Mayor Frances Cynthia Guiani (inset) delivered her State of the Children Report last November 24 before city officials, guests, teachers, and pupils from various elementary schools and day care centers of the city. The event was held at the People’s Palace. A mascot from a popular food chain cheered the attending children. (GILMHAR A. LAO - MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

COTABATO CITY --- This city government is further taking stride in its human development agenda in creating a child-friendly society that will fulfill the needs and aspirations of children as it calls the involvement of sectors in programs advocating holistic and sustainable strategies to promote and protect children’s rights

In her 2017 State of the Children Report, Mayor Frances Cynthia Guiani said  children must be protected against all forms of abuse and exploitation and ensure that they are cared for by the government and civil society.

“In creating a better and healthier environment for our children, the city government, aside from our Office on Social Welfare and Development Services  and the Office on Health Services, is closely working with our partners like the Department of Education, the Reconciliation Center of the Oblates of Notre Dame, Child Fund Philippines, United Nations Children’s Fund, the United States Agency for International Development, the Samaritan’s Purse, the Rotary Club of Cotabato, and the Cotabato City Police Office,” Mayor Guiani said.

When it comes to child care, she said, the city government has allocated some P54.6 million for the different Child Care and Protection programs.

“This is about 10 percent of the total annual budget of the city for the year 2017, twice as high the required allocation of five percent for the total operational budget of the city government. Next year, we are aiming to increase this allocation in order for us to fully become the Most Child-friendly City in the whole country,” the mayor said.

Further, the biggest thing that happened this year to further protect the children’s welfare, she cited, is the enactment of Ordinance No. 4529, better known as the “Discipline Ordinance of the City” authored by Councilor JapalGuiani III.

“Under Ordinance 4529, we will impose curfew hours from 10 o’clock in the evening to four o’clock in the morning for persons below eighteen years of age, whether resident or non-resident of the city. The Discipline Ordinance also prohibits the selling and/or serving liquors and other intoxicating beverages to minors,” she emphasized.

Under the Day Care/Child Development Services program, the day care workers or child development workers in the barangaysand supervised neighborhood play have identified 8,196 pre-schoolers of ages two to four years old. 

“The objective of this activity is to be able to identify eligible children, including those with disabilities, and use them as basis in planning for child development purposes,” the mayor said.

The city government’s special program for 40 street-based working children under the millennium development goal-family based actions for children in the slum and their environs was conducted this year with the distribution of starter production kits to the mothers of the concerned children.

As to the educational assistance for indigent children, 130 elementary school children will be receiving P1,000 worth of school kits containing school uniforms, t-shirts, socks, school shoes, and other supplies, while 120 high school students will be receiving P1,500 cash for their additional school expenses.  Same provisions will be given to either children with disability or children whose parents are PWDs.

“The city’s street education program succeeded in serving 1,041 of these children, including those who considered themselves as street working children and the vagrant ‘Badjaos.’ Twenty-six benefited from the city’s social welfare outreach program, 48 were visited at home and received ‘small talk’ counseling, 116 were provided value formation orientation as well as 11 children were referred to other partner institutions,” she added.

For the youth program, 39 organized youth groups composed of 1,043 out-of-school youth individuals and other socially disadvantaged youth groups benefited from the city government’s “UnladKabataan” program for this year.  

Also this year, the city government formally opened the Women Crisis Center, a facility for women in crisis situation, especially victims of domestic violence. Like the Social Development Center or SDC, the WCC also provides social services, psycho-social interventions to admitted clients that include preparation of their foods and clothing, personal hygiene, orientation on house rules and regulations, and counseling. 

“Both centers will coordinate with the concerned agency or relatives in order to facilitate the clients’ return home,” Mayor Guiani said.

As of the end of October, some 3,955 children were given vitamin supplementswhich is87.29 percent of the target basing on Civil Registry Office’s record registry of 6,575 child births from January 1 to November 15, 2017.

In regards to violence committed against children and children in conflict with the law, Mayor Guiani was happy to report the significant drop in crimes against children from the period January 1to October 31, 2017.

“From a high of 123 crimes against children in 2016, this year we only had 80 incidents. We are hoping that this figure would stay until the end of the year and that it could further drop in the coming years. Parallel to the drop in crimes against children, there was also a significant drop in the statistics of youth offenders. From a record of 37 incidents in 2016, we have 23 from the period January 1 to October 31 this year. We are also hoping that this figure would remain until the end of the year,” the mayor reported.(GILMHAR A. LAO & ANNE ACOSTA - MINDANAO EXPOSE’)