Mangaldan recipient of national award on children

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

MANGALDAN – The municipal administration of Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno was a recipient of a national award on being a Child-Friendly Local Governance.

The award was given by Secretaries Corazon Juliano-Soliman and Mel Senen S. Sarmiento of the Departments of Social Welfare & Development and Interior & Local Government.
“Let it be known to all that the Municipality of Mangaldan, Pangasinan is hereby conferred with the 2015 Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance by the Council for the Welfare of Children for its commitment in promoting child rights to survival, development, protection, and participation, towards a Child-Friendly Philippines: A caring and protective society for, by, and with the children,” expressed by the certificate given to Mayor Parayno.
The fete for this first class town was conferred last November 13, 2015 in Quezon City. 
Since 2014, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) had assessed the performance of local government units (LGUs) in the country for  the delivery of social services that promote the welfare of children.
Called the Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit (CFLGA), the audit system had measured LGUs performance in the delivery of services that generated positive results for children.
Under the CFLGA, all cities and municipalities shall be assessed to gauge their level of performance in implementing child-friendly programs and instituting measures that promote children’s welfare.

Under this program, the LGUs shall be assessed based on 12 assessment criteria. These are 1) Percentage reduction in the deaths among children below five years old; 2) Percentage reduction in the number of children under six with below normal weights; 3) Percentage increase in the number of 3-4- year-old children attending center-based day care services; 4) Completion rate for elementary schooling; 5) Absence of child labor or percentage reduction in child labor cases; 6) Percentage reduction in the number of children victims of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation (all forms, including physical violence, sexual abuse, and exploitation, and trafficking in persons). 7) Safety measures for children in the community and schools; 8) Extent of mainstreaming of Children’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation in the core development agenda of LGUs; 9) An ordinance establishing Barangay Violence Against Women and their Children (VAW/C) Desks; 10) 2013 Philhealth accreditation in its main health facility or rural health unit for Maternal Care Services and Primary Care; 11) A Local School Board (LSB) Plan for CY 2013 that is aligned with the School Improvement Plan (SIP); 12) Completed at least 70% of its LSB Plan for 2013.