48 LGUs Win Child-Friendly Seal

Forty-eight towns and cities of Cebu were awarded with the Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance 2016 of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Some of the awardees were the towns of Alegria, Asturias, Badian, Bantayan, Boljoon, Compostela, Catmon, Consolacion, Liloan, and the cities of Carcar, Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-lapu, Naga, and Talisay.

“Today we are assured that the core rights of our children: survival, protection, development, participation have not been and will never be overlooked in Region 7,” Dir. Ma. Evelyn Macapobre, DSWD-7 and Regional Council for Women and Children (RCWC) Chairperson said in her speech.

The award was given to local government units that passed the annual mandatory Child Friendly Local Governance Audit (CFLGA).

CFLGA was first conducted in 2014 by the DILG with its 12 indicators. Among its indicators include increased number of children attending day care services, reduced number of children who are victims of violence and abuse, and absence or reduced number of child labor cases.

“The Provincial Government of Cebu underlines the welfare of children as one of its priority concerns,” Marivic Garces, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) spoke in behalf of Acting Governor Agnes Magpale.

“Service is the business of the government. With or without an award, we remain fully committed to continue working for the welfare of children,” she added.

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Thomas Mark Durano of Danao City was looking forward in “creating core policies for the children’s absolute protection.”

“We shall ensure that the child is capable of forming his or her own views, the right to express those views freely and all matters affecting them,” Durano said in his speech.

For Carcar City Mayor Nicepuro Apura, one of the challenges in having a child-friendly city is maintaining child-friendly facilities and providing quality maternal care services.

cebu.gov.ph