Day: May 25, 2023

The children taken by social workers from a recent operation against an erring orphanage in Quezon City are in a safe condition, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported on Thursday. In a statement, DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez said the 149 children were transferred to three childcare facilities — the Elsie Gaches Village in Alabang, Muntinlupa City; Nayon ng Kabataan in Mandaluyong City; and the Reception and Study Center for Children in Quezon City — on Tuesday afternoon. This came following a letter from the Association of Child Caring Agencies of the Philippines (ACCAP) to DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian asking for transparency in the department’s dealing with the case of the Gentle Hands Inc. (GHI) orphanage. ACCAP is a network of Child Caring Agencies, of which GHI is a member. ‘As a concerned organization, we are hoping that the rules and policies in dealing with complaints against child caring agencies (CCAs) and the implementation of such extraordinary remedies in uprooting children from CCAs can be discussed and clarified in a meeting at the soonest possible time,’ said ACCAP president Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana in her letter. Lopez assured the ACCAP, as well as the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), that the social workers of the department are doing everything they can to provide ‘extra loving care’ to the children from GHI and that they are aware of the possible trauma during their transfer. ‘Our social workers are well-trained in handling children who underwent trauma. Our child psychologists are also monitoring the children and ready to talk to them to ensure that they are comfortable, physically and mentally healthy,’ Lopez said, as he thanked ACCAP and CHR for reminding DSWD of its duty and responsibility to the children. In a statement Wednesday, the CHR reminded relevant agencies and child rights advocates of the importance of minimizing the risk of further trauma, hurt, or harm to children when conducting investigative and intervention processes. Upon learning of the cease-and-desist order (CDO) issued by the DSWD due to several violations, the CHR deployed a quick response team to the GHI orphanage through its Investigation Office and the National Capital Region (NCR) Office. CHR lawyers and special investigators were present during the May 23 dialogue between DSWD officials and representatives of GHI at the agency’s central office.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The social welfare office here has prepositioned food and non-food relief items as well as temporary shelter kits in anticipation of Typhoon Betty (Mawar). Junard Abalos, city social welfare officer, said they have prepared 1,500 food packs, 400 non-food kits, 50 sets of modular tents, and 50 rolls of laminated tarpaulins to be used in making makeshift shelters in case the super typhoon batters the island villages here. Abalos said the city has also prepared 1,500 food packs and 1,000 non-food packs intended for the residents on the mainland. These relief and shelter kits are on top of the food and non-food items prepared by the Lapu-Lapu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (LCDRRMO). ‘We also have standby stocks for delivery by supplier just in case kulangon ang atong giandam (what we prepared will run out),’ Abalos told reporters in a message. In a statement, the city said the LCDRRMO delivered 700 relief food boxes to Caubian Island as part of the preparation, in addition to the relief food boxes now in stock. Caubian Island is the farthest island barangay of Lapu-Lapu. The city government is currently on red alert, ensuring that all equipment and logistics are in place. ‘So far, Lapu-Lapu City Rescue has reported no untoward incidents related to the forecasted track of Super Typhoon “Mawar,” which is expected to accelerate in a west-northwestward direction within the next 12 hours before turning westward,’ the statement said. Mayor Junard Chan has also directed the LCDRRMO to monitor all coastal and island barangays, particularly on Olango Island for possible effects once the typhoon hit the area. The emergency preparedness response team in Olango, which includes Lapu-Lapu City Police, Philippine Coast Guard, and Lapu-Lapu City Rescue, has already been activated in anticipation of the typhoon. Typhoon Betty is poised to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Saturday. It has maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 230 kph.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Hundreds of food packs are now prepositioned in seven clustered areas of Ilocos Norte province in preparation for the possible entry of a super typhoon in the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) between Friday night and Saturday morning. Provincial social welfare and development officer Lilian Rin reported this on Thursday as the packing and prepositioning of relief packs from the main warehouse to the clustered areas started Wednesday. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Tropical Cyclone Mawar slightly weakened from a super typhoon but local government units (LGUs) here are not leaving anything to chance. “It is better to be prepared even if we may not be directly hit by an incoming typhoon,’ said Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc in a media interview on Thursday as he reported all the necessary assets and logistics were positioned to ensure immediate response if needed. As of this posting, scattered rainfall is being experienced in the northeastern part of Ilocos Norte while this city remains under extremely hot temperature reaching up to 42 degrees Celsius heat index. Meanwhile, a solar charging station from the office of Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos from the first district of Ilocos Norte is being set up in Adams town, which is often isolated during bad weather. In Pagudpud town, heavy equipment of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is on standby in the landslide-prone area of Pancian along the Manila North Road. ‘Almost the whole of the mountain in Pancian, Pagudpud eroded in the previous typhoon and it took more than a month for clearing,’ said Engr. Jocelyn Oamar, spokesperson of the DPWH in Region 1 in a Zoom meeting on Thursday. All residents living in low-lying and landslide-prone areas were also reminded to be alert and be prepared as the province aims for zero casualty and minimize damages during a calamity. Typhoon Mawar is forecasted to track generally north-northwestward in the next 12 hours and is expected to traverse over the Philippine Sea. Once it enters the PAR on Friday night or Saturday morning, it will be named ‘Betty.’ It would be the second storm to enter the PAR this year and the first for this month.

Source: Philippines News Agency

– The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is urging local government units (LGUs) for a holistic program, including a facility for Children in Situations of Armed Conflict (CSAC) for rehabilitation, before they will be returned to their community. Christopher Montaño, CHR Regional Office 6 chief of the Promotion and Education Division, said much is yet to be done before the full implementation of the Republic Act 11188 also known as the Special Protection of Children in Armed Conflict Act which was signed into law on Jan. 2019. “The law is really relevant at this time, but it has to be fully implemented,” he said during an orientation held in San Jose de Buenavista on Thursday. Since the CSAC are rather victims and not children in conflict with the law (CICL), they are supposed to have their facility once they are rescued during the military operations, Montaño added. Most of the LGUs have their own CICL centers, but no CSAC facility yet where the rehabilitation program could be carried out. “There are actually two forms of CSAC, those children displaced due to armed conflict and those children involved in armed conflict,” he said. Montaño said that the children involved in armed conflict are those who had been recruited by the rebel group that is the New People’s Army (NPA) operating in Western Visayas. The rehabilitation program will depend on the type of CSAC. In Antique, six children were rescued by the military in an encounter with the NPA in Miag-ao, Iloilo on April 2020. “As to what happened to the children after their rescue that is something to find out because there is no facility for them,” Montaño said. Meanwhile, Seth Villaruel, deputy executive director of the nongovernment organization Sulong Peace, said in his message that under the law CSAC will be turned over to the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) after their capture. “The CSAC needs a transformative approach so they would be ready when they are returned to the community,” Villaruel said. He said that the MSWDOs will need special training on how to handle the CSAC. Sulong Peace Panay coordinator Richard Lestino, in a separate interview, said that through the activity they would be able to come up with plans on how they could further assist the province. “The NGO will be providing capability training to the LGUs on the management of CSAC,” he said. The one-day orientation was attended by the personnel of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) and their municipal counterparts, the Department of Education, the Philippine National Police, and other concerned government agencies.

Source: Philippines News Agency