Senator Bato dela Rosa is seeking the creation of crisis centers that will look after street children nationwide.
In Senate Bill No. 232 which he filed recently, Dela Rosa recognized the need to provide children living in the streets with care and proper nutrition.
“Let us build a protective environment for street children, let us protect their well-being,” the legislator said.
“The children, as stated in the Declaration of the Rights of Child, practically need special safeguards, as well as legal protection before and after birth. This is because of their physical and mental immaturity,” the lawmaker added.
“To fulfill our promise, we are pushing for the enactment of this bill into law.”
“To fulfill our promise”, the senator explained, “we are pushing for the enactment of this bill into law.”
Recent reports from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) revealed the increasing number of street children in the country’s urban centers that include Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao, among others.
Such prevalence of vulnerable street children along the busy streets in the country’s key cities entail the need to protect them from innumerable danger.
“The vulnerable kids who roam around our streets should be sheltered.”
“The vulnerable kids who roam around our streets should be sheltered from circumstances that danger their survival and normal development,” he noted.
The proposed measure mandates the implementation of a comprehensive program to be supervised by the DSWD in coordination with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
This will provide an emergency medical and feeding program, temporary shelter, basic educational, legal and counseling services, immediate rehabilitation for those identified as substance abusers, empowerment through livelihood, technical and social trainings, support system from the local government units and securing foster homes or employment best suited to the child’s individual capacity, among others.