SOUTH COTABATO – More than 80 representatives from various non-government organizations in South Cotabato province recently signed a Manifesto of Support urging Congress and Senate to immediately pass “Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act”, which calls for a comprehensive plan to protect children’s rights before, during and after a disaster.
In the manifesto signed at the policy forum organized by child rights organization Save the Children, the NGOs said the proposed law will establish a national policy to improve the care and protection of children affected by disasters, calamities and other emergencies.
The resolution pointed that “the trauma and suffering experienced by children affected by disasters can be avoided or lessened in future disasters by Congress acting now to establish clear policies regarding the welfare of children in situations of disaster and translate the lessons of Typhoon Yolanda and other disasters into specific measures for child protection.”
In June 2015, a resolution of support for the bill was unanimously approved by the South Cotabato Provincial Council.
Once enacted into law, the bill would require Department of Social Welfare and Development and other national government agencies to enhance services related to monitoring and protection of children vulnerable to and affected by disasters. These include improved family tracing for unaccompanied minors, separate data collection to identify children, child-focused emergency trainings and limiting use of schools as evacuation centers so that children could quickly resume their classes.
Save the Children, which has been pushing for the passage of the bill since 2014, welcomed expressions of support from Mindanao.
Roy Bautista, Save the Children Advocacy Manager, said: “Thousands of lives were lost in Mindanao in the wake of typhoons Pablo, Seniang and Yolanda. We know that children usually bear the brunt of the disaster’s impact. The support of the civil society and the local government shows how critical it is for Congress and Senate to pass the bill soon.” (Mindanao Examiner)
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