4 Central Mindanao LGUs get child-friendly awards

KIDAPAWAN CITY—The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has conferred the child-friendly seal to four local government units (LGUs) in Central Mindanao for programs geared to advancing the welfare of children.

Leocadio Trovela, acting director of the DILG national barangay operations office, said the cities of Cotabato and General Santos and the provinces of South Cotabato and North Cotabato got the rating of 100 percent each in the November 2015 Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit (CFLGA) and were conferred the seal by the Council for the Welfare of Children.

Children’s welfare

Reynaldo Bungubung, DILG Central Mindanao director under the CFLGA, said all cities and municipalities were assessed “to gauge their level of performance in implementing child-friendly programs and establishing measures that promote children’s welfare.”

“The conferment of the seal of child-friendly local governance to deserving LGUs proves that they have delivered services that promote the welfare of children, which can be seen in the child-sensitive policies or actions made by them,” Bungubung said.

In the case of North Cotabato, Ali Abdullah, the provincial local government operations officer, said the administration of Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza instituted child-friendly programs under the provincial Child and Youth Welfare Development Code.

He said other benchmarks used include scholarship programs for the youth, leadership and livelihood programs for in-school and out-of-school youth and feeding program for daycare centers.

Abdullah also cited the Summer Kids Peace Kids Camp (SKPKC) initiative of the provincial government, which is now in its sixth year.

Leadership skills, values

SKPKC aims to engage children—particularly fifth graders in public schools—in activities that promote peace. At the

SKPKC, children were taught leadership skills and values that would help them become more useful or productive individuals and instill in them the importance of peace among Christians, Moro and indigenous peoples, he said.

Mendoza said the conferment of the seal of child-friendly local governance to North Cotabato proved that the province has gone a long way in promoting the security and protection of children.

She said the provincial government would continue to uphold the welfare of the children and further institute changes or reforms that would uplift the living conditions of children of poor families. Williamor Magbanua, Inquirer Mindanao