Dumaguete City has qualified for the conferment of the Seal of Child Friendly Local Governance of the Department of Interior & Local Government for 2016.
DILG-Dumaguete City chief Farrah Gentuya said Monday the seal is given to local government units that were able to generate positive programs and services for the welfare of the children.
Dumaguete City was rated in all aspects compliance to mandatory requirement of laws pertaining to budget allocation for children and the presence of local laws that protect or promote children’s welfare, Gentuya further said.
Some of the indicators include percentage reductions in deaths among under five years old children; absence of child labor or percentage reduction in child labor cases; safety measures in the community and schools; an ordinance establishing Violence against Women and their children desks in the barangay and percentage of reduction in the number of children victims of violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and trafficking in persons, among others, the DILG city chief disclosed.
DILG data show that for the number of deaths among under five years old, Dumaguete recorded 34 in 2014 and 30 in 2015.
The population of children under five years old was pegged at 17,499 in 2014 and decline slightly to 17,727 the following year.
In another indicator, (number of under-six years old with below-normal weights), Dumaguete City had 443 in 2014 and the number dropped to 356 in 2015.
Some of the programs/projects of the Dumaguete LGU, through the city DSWD office, include the Healthy Start, Casa Esperanza home for abused women and children, a youth home, scholarships and a child-friendly investigating unit, among others.
The DILG had announced recently the eligibility of Dumaguete City and some other LGUs in the Negros Island Region to receive the award relative to the 2016 Local Governance Audit, said Gentuya.
The conferment of the award will be announced later after the Secretaries of the DILG and the Department of Social Welfare & Development will sign the certification, Gentuya said. (PNA/JFP)
