Jonas breaks ground for children’s center

CEBU, Philippines - Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes yesterday led the groundbreaking ceremony for its Center for Children in Conflict with the Law, located at a 1.2 hectare lot in sitio Dunggoan in barangay Basak.

Cortes assured the center will be finished before his term ends in 2016.

The mayor’s wife, Sarah Walker Cortes, who is the chairperson of the Mandaue City Council for the Protection of Children(MCCPC), said the first priority is the construction of the CICL for boys as most of child offenders in the city are male.

She said the idea of coming out with such a center came due to the lack of such a facility.

Children who are in conflict with the law are sent to rehabilitation centers in Argao town and in barangay Kalunasan in Cebu City.

CICL will also have an administration building, a halfway house, school building, a playground, and a Material Recovery Facility.

The city will spend P80 million for the project.

The P16 million in grant which came from the national government for being a recipient of the Seal of Good Housekeeping Award is being used for the project.

Maricel Yu, focal person of the MCCPC said the city has already spent P4 million for its site development and P15 million for the first building.

Once completed, the center can accommodate 30 boys and 30 girls at any given time.

In his speech, Mayor Cortes said the groundbreaking is another milestone for the city considering that the construction of the center a moral obligation. – (FREEMAN)