THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT of Zamboanga has been awarded with the prestigious “2018 Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance (SCFLG)” and the “2018 Presidential Award for Child-Friendly Municipalities and Cities” by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and from the national government.
Mayor Beng Climaco, a strong advocate of children’s rights, received the awards in recognition of the local government’s initiatives to promote the protection and welfare of children.
The awarding ceremony – attended by government officials and municipal mayors from different provinces and cities in Western Mindanao – was held last week at the LM Metro Hotel in Barangay Tetuan where Climaco rallied the support of local government executives in the region for the protection of the rights of children in their respective localities.
Zamboanga has been a consistent awardee for its efforts on child protection and welfare.
The SCFLG is awarded to cities and municipalities that have passed all the criteria set by the audit system subsequent to an assessment gauging their level of performance in implementing child-friendly programs and establishing measures which promote children’s welfare. “We should all work hard so that the rights of children are protected,” Climaco told local government executives and representatives from all over the region at the ceremony.
She also took pride in saying that the voices of the young are very important to her administration and cited Zamboanga City which participated and represented the country in the recently concluded UN Convention on the Rights of Children held in Germany. Zamboanga City, Climaco added, is also in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to keep children safe in terms of road safety and infrastructures.
She urged her counterparts in Western Mindanao to take initiatives that will protect children from dangers on the road as she cited police report on the increasing number of road crashes involving children as victims. She said Zamboanga will hold a special program at the Diamond anniversary of the UN Convention for the Protection of Children’s Rights this month.
Some 200 children are expected to join the event. Just recently, Climaco also graced the children-led participatory workshop on building agenda for a Child-Friendly Zamboanga City organized by the UNICEF and Ateneo de Zamboanga’s SUGPAT in collaboration with the local government. During the two-day workshop, Climaco read letters written by the children and responded to their recommendations and concerns. (Zamboanga Post)