All 182 barangays’ young participants had the opportunity to voice their issues and concerns during the 31st Children’s Congress held at the Grand Menseng Hotel on Monday and Tuesday.
The Children’s Congress was initiated by the Special Office of Children’s Concerns (SOCC) as part of their month-long celebration of National Children’s Month.
SOCC Head Consorcia Ronquillo, in an interview with Madayaw, said the congress has evolved into a platform for children to talk about a range of social issues in Davao City.
“Mahinungdanon [kini] tungod kay diri nakita o nabatbat nila ang mga issues nga gidala nila gikan sa ilang mga barangay (It is important because this is where they see or talk about the issues they brought from their barangays),” she said.
She said the event was attended by 182 children from the 182 barangays in the city, including the city sectoral child representatives.
Ten sectoral delegates were elected from among the attendees, including representatives from the Indigenous Peoples (IP), Moro, Community-based, children with special needs, children in street situations, academic children, and children of Overseas Filipino Workers.
Sexual harassment at school, lack of educational resources, the prevalence of water and air pollution, improper waste disposal and management, mental and emotional health problems, and charging high fees of tricycle drivers to students were among the most often discussed topics.
The youngsters also talked about malnutrition, lack of healthcare access, increasing child labor cases and cyberbullying, discrimination at school, lack of support system, and incapacity of acquiring scholarships.
Ronquillo said that on the second day, the children held the “Harapan,” in which stakeholders, who are members of the Davao City Council for Protection of Children, came to talk about government initiatives and intervention programs that can assist the children in resolving their issues.
She said they are constantly working with their partner organizations to address issues, particularly child abuse.
Kyle Brenda Baliang, the newly elected Davao City and Community-Based Child Representative expressed her gratitude for being a part of the citywide congress, saying it gave them a chance to voice out their concerns while making friends with other kids.
“We shared our thoughts sa mga nakita namo nga problema here in Davao City. Everything went smoothly. I made friends. Wala ko kabalo nga there are kids gyud diay nga gusto nila ipagawas ilahang voice about the problems and issues diria sa atoang lugar, and yesterday napagawas gyud nila to (We shared our thoughts about the issues we observed in Davao City. Everything went smoothly. And made friends. I had no idea that there are kids who truly want to voice their opinions on the problems and issues in our community, and yesterday they really expressed it),” she said.
She said she also gained knowledge from the speakers, particularly regarding the rights of children and the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC). CIO
