EO 53 strengthens legal support for victims of child abuse
President Benigno S. Aquino III has issued Executive Order No. 53 to strengthen government initiatives for the protection of children against rights violations and abuses.
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. said on Wednesday the President’s directive will boost the country’s child welfare program and improve the government’s legal support for victims of child abuse.
EO 53, signed by the Chief Executive on August 11, amended Executive Order No. 275 issued in 1995, which created the Committee for the Special Protection of Children (CSPC).
“The President considers it exceptionally indispensable to give importance to law enforcement as a critical factor in the overall approach to protect children, including their rights, and to make sure that their welfare will not be taken for granted,” Ochoa said.
Under the new EO, President Aquino reorganized CSPC, an inter-agency body which acts indirectly as the coordinating body for the implementation of the Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Act, and other government policies that uphold and promote children’s rights and welfare.
The President wanted the CSPC to coordinate and monitor the investigation and prosecution of cases involving violations of the Anti-Child Abuse Act and other child-related criminal laws, as well as formulate and monitor programs under the law.
The Chief Executive’s directive sought to ensure the legal protection of children who are victims of physical, sexual, trafficking, prostitution, child labor, neglect and exploitation. He also ordered the CSPC to assist children of indigenous peoples, Muslim children, and others trapped in armed conflicts.
Specifically, the President instructed the CSPC to give preferential attention to violent crimes committed against children, cases with great impact on national interest and those referred to the body for immediate action.
“In issuing EO 53, the President believes that the implementation of the Anti-Child Abuse Act and other similar state policies, as well as the discharge of the function of the body principally responsible for the protection of children, will become more effective,” Ochoa said.
The CSPC, under EO 53, will be chaired by the secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and co-chaired by the secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Its members include the chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the secretaries of the Departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Labor and Employment (DOLE), Tourism (DOT), the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Health (DOH) and Education (DepEd).
The commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration (BID), director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), chief of the Philippine National Police PNP, the prosecutor general, and three representatives from non-government or private organizations working and advocating for the protection of children will also serve as members of the CSPC.
The three representatives can be nominated by any member of the CSPC and will be appointed by the committee chairperson for a term of three years, which can be extended subject to the same process.
The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) will act as the secretariat of the CSPC.
Among the CSPC’s mandate is to establish a system of collecting periodic reports from member-agencies on cases filed before them, harmonize actions of various inter-agency councils on the legal protection of children, and develop and recommend policies and guidelines to address gaps and issues in the investigation and prosecution of cases.
The CSPC should also submit an annual report and accomplishments to the Office of the President.
EO 53 shall take effect immediately upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation.(PCOO)
President Benigno S. Aquino III has issued Executive Order No. 53 to strengthen government initiatives for the protection of children against rights violations and abuses.
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. said on Wednesday the President’s directive will boost the country’s child welfare program and improve the government’s legal support for victims of child abuse.
EO 53, signed by the Chief Executive on August 11, amended Executive Order No. 275 issued in 1995, which created the Committee for the Special Protection of Children (CSPC).
“The President considers it exceptionally indispensable to give importance to law enforcement as a critical factor in the overall approach to protect children, including their rights, and to make sure that their welfare will not be taken for granted,” Ochoa said.
Under the new EO, President Aquino reorganized CSPC, an inter-agency body which acts indirectly as the coordinating body for the implementation of the Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Act, and other government policies that uphold and promote children’s rights and welfare.
The President wanted the CSPC to coordinate and monitor the investigation and prosecution of cases involving violations of the Anti-Child Abuse Act and other child-related criminal laws, as well as formulate and monitor programs under the law.
The Chief Executive’s directive sought to ensure the legal protection of children who are victims of physical, sexual, trafficking, prostitution, child labor, neglect and exploitation. He also ordered the CSPC to assist children of indigenous peoples, Muslim children, and others trapped in armed conflicts.
Specifically, the President instructed the CSPC to give preferential attention to violent crimes committed against children, cases with great impact on national interest and those referred to the body for immediate action.
“In issuing EO 53, the President believes that the implementation of the Anti-Child Abuse Act and other similar state policies, as well as the discharge of the function of the body principally responsible for the protection of children, will become more effective,” Ochoa said.
The CSPC, under EO 53, will be chaired by the secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and co-chaired by the secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Its members include the chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the secretaries of the Departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Labor and Employment (DOLE), Tourism (DOT), the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Health (DOH) and Education (DepEd).
The commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration (BID), director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), chief of the Philippine National Police PNP, the prosecutor general, and three representatives from non-government or private organizations working and advocating for the protection of children will also serve as members of the CSPC.
The three representatives can be nominated by any member of the CSPC and will be appointed by the committee chairperson for a term of three years, which can be extended subject to the same process.
The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) will act as the secretariat of the CSPC.
Among the CSPC’s mandate is to establish a system of collecting periodic reports from member-agencies on cases filed before them, harmonize actions of various inter-agency councils on the legal protection of children, and develop and recommend policies and guidelines to address gaps and issues in the investigation and prosecution of cases.
The CSPC should also submit an annual report and accomplishments to the Office of the President.
EO 53 shall take effect immediately upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation.(PCOO)
Returning OFWs to be given government assistance
Malacañang vowed on Wednesday to provide government assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by untoward incidences happening in their place of work.
During a press briefing in Malacanang, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that concerned government agencies were undertaking measures to address the plight of OFWs to be evacuated due to the continuing violence in Syria.
“We will ask the Department of Labor and Employment to make sure that we will find something for them,” Lacierda said adding that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is also moving to provide similar assistance to the OFWs.
President Benigno S. Aquino III on Tuesday said that the Philippine government has a quick response plan, as well as contingency measures in place, ready at any moment’s notice to evacuate Filipinos in Syria.
The major concern with Syria is that there are 17,000 Filipinos working in that country --95 percent of which are domestic helpers.
Lacierda said that the government assistance will cover all those affected.
“Makaka-asa po kayo that the government will be making sure that they will not be abandoned,” Lacierda said.(PCOO)
Aquino gov’t hopeful on MILF peace pact despite possible expulsion of Umbra Kato
The Aquino government remains hopeful that it could forge a peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) despite the impending expulsion of Ameril Umbra Kato, one of the rebel groups’ radical commanders.
“We remain hopeful that the MILF will be able to resolve this internal situation. And we remain hopeful that by doing so the peace process can move forward. Everything is within the realm of hopefulness owing to the fact that we had a good meeting with Chairman Murad Ebrahim and the President,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday.
President Benigno Aquino III met with MILF leadership in Tokyo, Japan, on August 4 to show the sincerity of his administration in the ongoing peace negotiations.
Resolving the issue now remains on the shoulder of MILF because declaring Kato as renegade commander is MILF’s internal problem, Lacierda added.
MILF said its central committee will soon issue a resolution declaring Kato no longer a member.
Once the MILF resolves the issue of Kato, Lacierda said the government panel need not raise it and negotiators could proceed with the proposal that has to be submitted before the August 22 meeting.
But the Philippine government may raise the issue with their counterparts to clarify the possible implications of the expulsion of Kato to the ongoing negotiations.
Kato, having 200 armed fighters, angered the MILF leadership when he got involved in a deadly land feud between two commanders in Mindanao.(PCOO)
Malacanang urges local government units to help spread out dengue traps
The Aquino government enjoined local government units (LGUs) to help spread out the dengue traps in a bid to decrease the number of dengue cases in the country.
“We are trying to make sure that dengue traps are spread out to all of the affected areas in the country,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a regular press briefing on Wednesday in Malacanang.
According to Lacierda, the government is encouraging the LGUs and the communities to get dengue traps (Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal trap or the OL Trap) from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
“It is actually very cheap and the dengue trap that the DOST have developed have been proven to be effective,” he said.
Last February 19, the DOST and the Department of Health kicked off the nationwide distribution of the Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal trap or the OL Trap at the Balyuan Convention Center in Tacloban City.
The launch was anchored on firm partnership between the DOST and DOH to reduce the number of dengue-carrying mosquitoes and subsequently bring down the number of dengue cases in the country.
The OL Trap is a simple device that helps reduce the number of the dengue-carrying female Aedes aegypti mosquito by attracting mosquitoes and killing their eggs trapped in the kit.
Lacierda said the LGUs have an important role in the successful deployment of the technology as he acknowledged the effectiveness of the DOST-developed OL Trap based on previous tests.(PCOO)
The Aquino government enjoined local government units (LGUs) to help spread out the dengue traps in a bid to decrease the number of dengue cases in the country.
“We are trying to make sure that dengue traps are spread out to all of the affected areas in the country,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a regular press briefing on Wednesday in Malacanang.
According to Lacierda, the government is encouraging the LGUs and the communities to get dengue traps (Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal trap or the OL Trap) from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
“It is actually very cheap and the dengue trap that the DOST have developed have been proven to be effective,” he said.
Last February 19, the DOST and the Department of Health kicked off the nationwide distribution of the Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal trap or the OL Trap at the Balyuan Convention Center in Tacloban City.
The launch was anchored on firm partnership between the DOST and DOH to reduce the number of dengue-carrying mosquitoes and subsequently bring down the number of dengue cases in the country.
The OL Trap is a simple device that helps reduce the number of the dengue-carrying female Aedes aegypti mosquito by attracting mosquitoes and killing their eggs trapped in the kit.
Lacierda said the LGUs have an important role in the successful deployment of the technology as he acknowledged the effectiveness of the DOST-developed OL Trap based on previous tests.(PCOO)
