The first-ever National Child Protection Summit that convened focal persons on child protection, guidance counselors, school heads, teachers, and representatives of various government and non-government organizations involved in child care from all the regions was held at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on August 23-24 along with the theme “Bata, Bata, Ating Kinakalinga: Strengthening the Implementation of the Child Protection Policy”.
The event aims to provide the participants an opportunity to identify the gaps, challenges, areas of priority action and strategies that will further collaborative effort between and among internal and external school stakeholders on the implementation of the DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012, or the Child Protection Policy of zero tolerance against all acts of child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination and bullying at the school level.
Moreover, the summit is a significant DepEd endeavor that contributes to the realization of the targets of the Philippine Plan of Action to End Violence Against Children for 2017-2022. Said Plan stipulates that the Department has a stake in reducing the prevalence of violence against children. It is DepEd’s mandate to create a learning environment that is safe and conducive to the education of all children, one that respects, protects, fulfills, and upholds their rights.
DepEd participants are those who have attended previous trainings on the topic and had been performing tasks in relation to child protection in their respective areas of assignment. The composition of representatives per region is, one focal person on child protection, one guidance counselor and a school head while every division in the region is given one teacher-slot.
Cordillera Administrative Region was represented by Mayclaire Jimenez, Child Protection Specialist of Benguet Division, Daniel Peredo, principal of Cordillera Regional Science High School and Ursula Dalay-on, guidance counselor of La Trinidad National High School. They were joined by eight teachers coming from the different schools division in CAR.
Said activity was organized by DepEd in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund-Philippines and Child Protection Network Foundation, Inc.
By Ursula M. Dalay-on