BONTOC, Mountain Province – This town has been conferred the Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance (SCFLG) for 2022.
The SCFLG is a recognition system for local government units that passed the annual mandatory child-friendly local governance audit by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The town passed with flying colors the five indicators with an overall rating of 90.50 percent.
Mayor Jerome Tudlong, Jr. credited the accolades received by the municipality to the concerted efforts of the workforce of the municipal government, partner stakeholders, and the community.
He said the award is a manifestation of the town’s commitment in ensuring that children are provided with the best services due to them.
Tudlong called for a continuing partnership with partner stakeholders to ensure children’s rights and welfare are protected even in the remotest barangays of the municipality.
Knittle Jane Lingbanan of the Municipal Planning and Development Office said the SCFLG audit covers five indicators: the right of children to survival, the right of children to development, the right of children to protection, and the right of children to participation, and governance.
The right of children to survival covers fully immunized children aged zero to 12 months old; the prevalence of malnutrition among children aged zero to 59 months old; the percentage of coverage of pregnant adolescents provided with prenatal and postpartum, the percentage coverage of pregnant adolescents with prenatal services; and percentage of coverage of pregnant adolescents with postpartum services.
The right of children to development includes the percentage coverage of children aged three to four years old provided with early childhood care and development (ECCD) services both public and privately managed, and maybe facility, home, or community-based.
It also looks into the presence of ECCD services in all barangays, either private or publicly managed, in any of the following modality: center/facility, home, community, or other modalities; percentage of barangays with at least one ECCD service; and percentage of accredited or recognized center-based ECCD services.
The percentage of out of school children and youth assisted for enrollment/re-enrollment to school, alternative learning system or other flexible learning options is also considered including the percentage of children who have dropped out from school that were reintegrated in the academic year being audited; and percentage of out of school children and youth registered/enrolled to schools, alternative learning systems, or other flexible learning options.
The right of children to protection highlights the management of reported cases in need of special protection. This includes the percentage of coverage of case management, case management preparation, and established referral network.
The right of children to participation covers child representation in the Local Council for the Protection of Children; child representative in the city/municipality CPC; child representative selection process at the city/municipal level; child representative at the barangay CPC; development of program, project, activity or policy with children’s participation in the planning, and implementation or monitoring phase.
Governance covers established and updated database on children; Annual Local State of the Children Report; available and implemented local plans for children; updated Local Code for Children adopting recently issued national laws on children; and budget allocated for children’s PPAs.
Municipal Local Government Operations Officer Lourdes Claire Peel said the SCFLG is one of the requirements under the Social Protection and Sensitivity Programs of the DILG’s Seal of Good Local Governance.
Other municipalities in Mountain Province that passed the SCFLG Audit are Tadian and Bauko. –Alpine L. Killa-Malwagay
