March 29, 2024

The Department of the Interior and Local Government is now assessing the local government units’ implementation of child-friendly programs and establishment of measures that promote children’s welfare through the 2022 Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit (CFLGA).

“The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. puts a premium on the protection and welfare of our Filipino children. Through the CFLGA, we are ensuring LGUs will help build a protective society where children can enjoy their rights by including them in their plans, budget, policies, and services,” said Sec. Benhur Abalos.

The CFLGA is an annual assessment of the performance of cities and municipalities in implementing child-friendly policies, programs, projects, and services.

Abalos said LGUs will be assessed based on a set of criteria, including child-friendly facilities in the barangay; budget allocated and utilized for children’s programs; functional local councils for the protection of children with child representation; and children’s participation in the development of programs, projects, and activities.

Also being checked are the percentage of fully immunized children; percentage of pregnant adolescents provided with prenatal and postpartum services; percentage of children aged three to four provided with early childhood care and development services; percentage of out-of-school children and youth assisted for schooling; and LGU’s management of cases of children in need of special protection.

“We check and review all of these things to ensure that LGUs are really prioritizing the needs and welfare of our children,” he said.

To pass the audit, LGUs must obtain an overall passing rate of 80 percent with a minimum required score of 12 each for the Survival, Development, Protection, and Participation categories and 32 points for the Governance category.

Abalos said an LGU which passes the CFLGA will be granted with the Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance (SCFLG) by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) Board.

“Passing the CFLGA is the LGU’s passport to being awarded with the highly coveted SCFLG which recognizes LGU efforts towards building a child-friendly Philippines. It is a mark of distinction for LGUs who deliver outstanding performance for the well-being of our children,” he said.

The SCFLG is also a requirement under the Social Protection and Sensitivity Program of the Seal of Good Governance (SGLG). LGUs with the SCFLG will also be eligible to vie for the Presidential Award for Child-Friendly Municipalities and Cities.

The DILG chief said the timeline for the CFLGA implementation has been adjusted to ensure that the issues and concerns of the Inter-Agency Monitoring Task Force are addressed before jumping to the audit proper, which will begin in October.

He added the assessment period for the 2022 CFLGA will cover pandemic data and reports, thus, all data requirements and means of verification should be sourced from calendar year 2021.

The DILG has directed the use of the automated system called Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance Knowledge Management System (SCFLG KMS) to ensure an effective and efficient CFLGA implementation and maintain compliance with the new normal protocols and minimum health standards during the activity. Abalos said SCFLG KMS is an automated system, developed by the CWC for the CFLGA assessment, where the audit may be processed and will serve as a repository of data and information generated from the CFLGA and other child-related data for easier access of the LGUs and the public. – Press release