DELA ROSA PUSHES FOR THE CREATION OF CRISIS CENTER FOR STREET CHILDREN

SENATOR RONALD 'BATO' DELA ROSA is seeking for the establishment of crisis centers that will cater to the needs and ensure the well-being of street children nationwide.

In his Senate Bill No. 232 filed recently, Dela Rosa recognized the need to provide copious care and proper nutrition to the children who were abandoned by their parents. "Let us build a protective environment for street children, let us protect their well-being," Dela Rosa said.

"The children, as stated in the Declaration of the Rights of Child, practically need special safeguards, as well as legal protection before and after birth. This is because of their physical and mental immaturity," he added. "To fulfill our promise", Dela Rosa explained, "we are pushing for the enactment of this bill into law."

Recent reports from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) revealed the increasing number of street children in the country's urban centers that include Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao, among others.

Such prevalence of vulnerable street children along the busy streets in the country's key cities entail the need to protect them from innumerable danger.

"The vulnerable kids who roam around our streets should be sheltered from circumstances that danger their survival and normal development," Dela Rosa noted.

The proposed measure mandates the implementation of a comprehensive program to be supervised by the DSWD in coordination with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

This will provide an emergency medical and feeding program, temporary shelter, basic educational, legal and counseling services, immediate rehabilitation for those identified as substance abusers, empowerment through livelihood, technical and social trainings, support system from the local government units and securing foster homes or employment best suited to the child's individual capacity, among others.