BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the solid foundation of today’s youth will definitely be a key factor in preventing teenage pregnancies regionwide because they will be equipped with the proper values vital in confronting the challenges that they meet while growing up.
The local chief executive said based on the results of interviews conducted by experts with victims of teenage pregnancy, most of those who had problems came from problematic families like those with separated parents.
“We need to continue the reforms that we have started to help improve the services to our people,” Domogan stressed.
He claimed youth with the right kind of values are better and less exposed to committing unhealthy behavior that will affect their bright future. We must sustain the proper way of equipping our children with the right values to help them avoid problems that will compromise their future,” Domogan stressed.
He said on the part of the local government, it is strengthening the campaign of the Character City in the barangay level so that the proper values orientation programs will be put in place to prevent the youth from encountering serious moral problems.
The city’s Character Council is composed of multi-sectoral representatives that focus on building the character as the foundation of the overall development of the city.
According to him, religious groups and members of the academe must also teach in their respective congregations and classrooms the importance of acquiring the values needed to serve as the foundation for their growth and development and combat unhealthy motives that confront them while they are maturing as responsible citizens of the city.
He underscored bad influences on today’s youth will have no effect if these youth are imbued with the necessary values to comprehend what is right or wrong at the same time be able to independently confront the evils of society without fear and decide on taking the socially appropriate route instead of being lost in the wilderness.
He explained individuals can easily discern a person with a good solid foundation in life thus he urged the older ones to teach their younger brothers and sisters the right kind of attitude in confronting the challenges that come their way.
He called on today’s youth to help themselves by attending educational gatherings not only in their schools and communities but also in other places that serve as their learning venues on how to mature as responsible and dedicated citizens of the city and to serve as a role model in character development for other youth.
Domogan challenged the members of the Character Council and the academe to further intensify their programs and projects to teach the younger generations with the right kind of values to help them grow as mature individuals who will fight for what is right and denounce and avoid what they think is wrong.
By Dexter A. See
