Presidential Office for Child Protection created

Citing the alarming rise in cases of online sexual abuse of children (OSAEC) and other threats to children’s welfare, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has created a special office tasked to beef up the government’s efforts on child protection.

Dated Aug. 6, Executive Order 67 created the Presidential Office for Child Protection (POCP), to be led by a presidential adviser on child protection.

READ: Child protection office created in PH amid rise in online abuse cases

The POCP will be directly under the Office of the President while its yet-to-be named head will be under the control and supervision of Antonio Lagdameo Jr., the President’s special assistant.

His directive came two months after Mr. Marcos ordered the creation of a centralized system for detecting and reporting OSAEC cases.

Under EO 67, the POCP was tasked to monitor and harmonize the government’s thrusts, policies and programs on child protection and welfare.

It will submit policy recommendations on child protection and welfare and recommend urgent interventions for the protection of children and convene technical working groups as needed.

Its initial funding will be charged against the budget of the Office of the President, but its own budget proposal will be included in the next national budget. —JULIE M. AURELIO