Youth leader presents "better" Children's Code

CEBU, Philippines - Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation President Rengel Pelayo reintroduced to the 12th City Council the ordinance amending the Cebu City Children’s Code or Ordinance no. 1874, which seeks to provide a more comprehensive law for the welfare of children.

One of the highlights of the ordinance is the proposal to increase the budget for its implementation from P500,000 to P1 million and a 20-percent increase in the succeeding years.

The ordinance also seeks to tighten policies and programs created to address inadequate health and medical care, limited access to schools and educational opportunities, labor exploitation and trafficking of children, increasing teenage pregnancies, drug addiction and increasing number of incidents of child abuse.

It was first proposed on 2009 during the 11th City Council but was not passed. During the council’s regular session last Friday, Pelayo referred it to the committee on laws for comments.

The proposed Children’s Code of 2010 aims to promote the children’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation.

There will be revisions on certain provisions in order to address the concerns recently raised by children themselves and non-government organizations, as well as government agencies.

The concerns include the rising number of women aged 15 to 19 years old giving birth to unwanted babies, the remaining 72.6 percent of preschoolers not attending early childhood education, diarrhea remaining one of the leading causes of mortality to children six months to four years old and the increasing number of children committing offenses as revealed by the Child and Youth Section of the Cebu City Police Office.

In general, the problems of city children include child labor, child trafficking, loitering at nights, drug addiction, cigarette smoking, gambling, prostitution, premarital sex, lack of education, engagement of being victimized in crimes, physical as well as emotional abuse, discrimination and parent-child communication gap.

The identified causes of these problems are irresponsible parenting as number one, low income, easy access to drugs and alcohol and other illegal products, peer pressure and complacency of authorities supposedly enforcing the laws.

Under the code, children’s rights are more protected especially their right to care, assistance and protection of the city government particularly in times when their parents fail to provide them with their needs for growth.

The city’s implementing and monitoring arm for the welfare of children here is Cebu City Commission for the Welfare and Protection of Children (CCCWPC) which was created for that purpose.

The code also mandates the City Government to ensure that children are getting access to efficient health care facilities, maternal health care programs, immunization, and clean environment through stricter implementation of waste management and sanitation.

The city is also compelled to establish safe and wholesome recreational facilities in all barangays and provide skills training to out of school youth who could not afford the formal education for the meantime.    (FREEMAN NEWS)