ILOILO CITY -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Western Visayas is aiming to strengthen Local Councils for the Protection of Children (LCPCs) in the region.
Raji Alvarado, secretariat of the Regional Sub-committee for the Welfare of Children (RSCWC) 6, in a media interview on Monday afternoon, said that based on the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) data, there are only 89 out of 101 local government units in the region which have functional LCPCs.
She added that based on their field observations, some barangay officials are even unaware of what an LCPC is.
Alvarado said that they want to capacitate LGUs so their respective LCPCs could function and serve the need of children in their communities.
For Iloilo City, Alvarado said that the city’s council for the protection of children is working on enabling all barangay councils for the protection of children to become functional. Based on DILG’s data, more than 70 percent of the city’s councils are functional.
A council is functional when they conduct meetings, have elected officers, programs and services for children and ordinances for children, she said.
She said that each LCPC should look into the welfare of children in their communities, as well as their affairs. These include intervention and diversion program, monitoring of children facing criminal cases and street children.
The local chief executive of the town should serve as head of the LCPC while the village chief should serve as chairperson at the barangay level.
The RSCWC-6 will gather LCPCs in the region in a summit on December 12.
Alvarado said that the summit would be a venue for the LCPCs to be re-oriented of their functions and clarify issues on their roles. (PNA)
