Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte. INQUIRER file photo / EDWIN BACASMAS
MANILA, Philippines — The local government of Quezon City on Tuesday said that it would construct a protection shelter, and will activate a crisis helpline, amid the reported increase of cases of violence against women and children in the city.
In a statement, Mayor Joy Belmonte said that Quezon City will soon have a shelter, which will be under the QC Protection Center (QCPC), that will accept women and children fleeing from violence.
The QCPC’s counseling and legal advice that it currently offers will be made available soon via the crisis helpline, which, Belmonte said, are already underway.
Aside from this, Belmonte added that the Tindahan ni Ate Joy livelihood program, where initially sari-sari store start-up packages were given to single parents, will likewise be extended to include violence against women survivors.
Such plans were announced as data from the QC Gender and Development Office showed that a total of 355 incident reports of violence against women and children from different barangays were received during the quarantine period.
Such reports include physical, sexual, psychological, verbal and economical abuse, Belmonte said.
“This pandemic has revealed to us the gaps the we need to address in terms of women and children violence. We have been getting reports of individuals who want to leave their homes but do not have anywhere else to go,” the mayor expressed.
“Ang pang-aabuso ay walang pinipiling oras [Abuse does not have a specific time]. It can happen anytime. So we want to extend services that will attend to women anytime they need, especially if they are in immediate danger,” she added.
In President Rodrigo Duterte’s 11th report to Congress on June 8, it was reported that over 3,600 cases of violence against women and children were reported to authorities since the government imposed enhanced community quarantine on the entire Luzon island in mid-March.
The Quezon City LGU added that of the total number of reported cases, 74 of which were from the Quezon City Police District.
The LGU also previously reopened its protection center, located within the Quezon City General Hospital compound in Barangay Bahay Toro, for victims of gender-based violence and abuse.