CHR probes DSWD’s closure of orphanage

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has launched an investigation into the impending closure by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) of an orphanage over alleged violations of the standards for residential facilities for children.

In a statement yesterday, the CHR said its Investigation Office and National Capital Region (NCR) Office dispatched a quick response operation team to Gentle Hands Inc. (GHI) after learning of the cease and desist order (CDO) issued by the DSWD on May 22.

The CHR said the quick response team will also look into reports that police officers accompanying DSWD personnel who took custody of the orphans were armed, causing the children distress.

“As the country’s independent national human rights institution, we underscore the importance of putting primacy on the best interest of children. While we affirm that the serious concerns raised must be acted upon expeditiously, we also stress that it must be dealt with in a manner that is conscious and sensitive to the needs of the children,” the CHR said.

The violations include not having licensed social workers looking after the children, having no fire exit or fire extinguisher, poor sanitation and overcrowding.

In a dialogue held on Tuesday, the DSWD and GHI agreed to suspend the implementation of the CDO.

Disruptive behavior

Meanwhile, the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), an agency attached to DSWD, said yesterday that at least three children adopted through GHI have displayed “disruptive behavior.”

NACC executive director Janella Ejercito said the disruptive behavior is due to “poor preparation of the children – mentally, physically and emotionally.”

She said child A’s adoptive parents told the NACC that the child locked up the adoptive father in a restroom for hours.

Child B was adopted and brought to the United States but is now in a mental institution after chasing the adoptive parents with a knife in hand “not once but five times,” Ejercito said.

Child B is set to be brought back to the Philippines, she added.

Ejercito said the case of child C, who was also adopted in the US, will have a “big impact” on the Philippines because the adoptive parents filed a complaint with the US State Department and Hague Convention.

She said the two orphans adopted abroad were not prepared to be taken out of the country. – Sheila Crisostomo