‘Make Lapu-Lapu tourist and child-friendly’
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said she wants children to help achieve the goal of making Lapu-Lapu City a tourism capital of the country.
Around seven thousand students and children had gathered to listen to Mayor Radaza’s State of the Children Report which was held yesterday afternoon in Hoops Dome Lapu-Lapu City.
The mayor opened her statements by singing with the students and children the song “Twinkle, twinkle little star” and later expressed her full support to all the children of Lapu-Lapu City and that she was proud, honored and humbled to present her report.
“Just like the song that we just sang together, I want all of you to be like little stars up in the sky that shines brightly on our city.” Radaza said.
In her annual state of the children address, Radaza said her administration is investing in the children and youth.
“I am investing in you to help the city develop new tourism products and to help the city promote eco-tourism,” Radaza said.
She assured members of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), student leaders and out-of -school youths that they have the full support of Lapu-Lapu City government.
Child-friendly
The city’s program is based on the four basic rights set by the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of a Child: the right to life, right to development, right to protection, and right to participation.
For three straight years, Lapu-Lapu City has been a recipient of the Garantisadong Pambata Regional Award. The mayor said this is because “of our consistent performance in providing the best health care to our children starting from their mother’s womb.”
The mayor said Lapu-Lapu city has a lower infant mortality rate than the national average because of its Vitamin A and Iron supplementation program for pregnant mothers.
“We see to it that pregnant moms are given quality pre-natal care and tetanus toxoid immunization. But your city government does not only give babies inside their mother’s womb the much needed health care, we also provide it to our growing up kids,” she added.
She reported that city health records show that 100 percent of children up to 12 months old were immunized and 90 percent of them were exclusively breastfed for seven months.
Lapu-Lapu City recorded the lowest malnutrition rate in all of Central Visayas at 1.92 percent among children six years old and below for the year 2011.
“While I am pleased with the numbers, I want the city government to bring it down to zero percent in the medium term. I believe that in our city no child should be malnourished,” she said.
Malnourished children in the city are given Vitamin A and iron supplements while those below six years old are given dry rations of milk and rice for three months.
Day care workers are also trained to teach children. The city government also sends indigent children to school with the help of private sector partners, which has increased the number of scholars to 365 this year.
With the Aquino administrations conditional cas transfer program, more children can go to school.
“The Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program has been made available to 5,000 of the poorest of the poor in our city,” said the mayor.
With this, Lapu-Lapu has seen “ an increase in enrollment in our public schools.”/Correspondents Fe Marie M. Dumaboc and Norman V. Mendoza
