The participants of the workshop on the formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Children’s Code of the Las Piñas City held on September 6-7, 2017 at the Junction Tagaytay Hotel.
Tagaytay City, Philippines – The Humanitarian Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc. (HLAF) facilitated for the first time a workshop on the formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Children’s Code of the Las Piñas City last September 6 to 7, 2017 at the Junction Tagaytay Hotel.
Las Piñas City Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC) tapped HLAF to facilitate the said workshop through HLAF’s Executive Director, Atty. Rommel Alim Abitria.
Before proceeding to the actual workshop on the formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Children’s Code, DILG City Director, Ms. Mary Ann B. Planas, CESE, gave the welcoming remarks to the participants of the workshop. She thanked everyone for attending the said workshop. She then emphasized the importance of the activity as the city cannot operationalize the duly enacted Children’s Code without the Implementing Rules and Regulations and commended the participants as the members of the technical working group of the Children’s Code. Ms. Planas ended her remarks by welcoming everyone to the event and encouraged everyone to enjoy themselves during the workshop on the formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Children’s Code.
City Administrator, Mr. Reynaldo C. Balaguan, followed on stage to give an inspirational message to the participants of the workshop. Mr. Balaguan acknowledged the efforts of the participants to continuously attend different seminars related to the formulation of the Children’s Code. He seconded the claim of Ms. Planas on how important the workshop is. He also recalled how the technical working group members worked on the Children’s Code continuously and how many revisions it took. He then hoped that at the end of the two-day seminar, the participants will be able to finalize the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Children’s Code. He concluded that aside from compliance with the rules, he hoped that everyone supports the advocacy of the city to have a comprehensive Children’s Code and hoped everyone to enjoy the workshop.
To give updates on the status of children in Las Piñas before the workshop on the formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations, Planning Development Officer II, Mr. Ian Dennis S. Cruz, reported the State of Children in Las Piñas City from the 2016 State of the Children Report. Mr. Cruz tackled the report about population, education, social welfare and protection, nutrition, health, and budget.
Also, Coun. Rubymar M. Ramos read the sections and articles of the Children’s Code written last November 2016. This action was set as a platform to start the workshop on the formulation of the IRR of the Children’s Code.
The LCPC sub-committees (Development Committee, Survival Committee, Participation Committee, and Protection Committee) input their suggestions for the IRR. Also, they reported per committee their inputs and Atty. Abitria provided comments to enhance the formulation of the IRR.
“On behalf of the Department of Education, we are very thankful to be part of the committee… I’m looking forward to another training workshop.” Mr. Alquin Celestial said during the sharing of experience on the second day of the workshop.
“The department is very thankful to the LCPC… the City Planning Office is very happy that the planning for the city’s welfare is a multi-sectoral approach like what we have done today… we were about to create a more comprehensive plan…” Mr. Ian Dennis Cruz added.
At the closing of the two-day workshop, the participants were able to create an outline for the drafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of their Children’s Code.
HLAF Senior Community Organizer, Ms. Claudette Almadin, RSW, said that the workshop is one of the trail-blazing practices of the Las Piñas City LCPC as the technical working group is very willing to participate in the workshop on the formulation of the IRR of the city’s Children’s Code.
“I am very thankful to the participants as they were able to allot time for this workshop… we can be proud for our involvement in drafting the IRR as the youth of the Las Piñas City will be the beneficiaries of the Children’s Code. As we are about to go back to our respective offices, we have something we can work on with… and we will present this to the whole body of the Local Council for the Protection of Children.” Ms. Junet M. Barilla, RSW said during the closing remarks of the workshop.
The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Las Piñas City’s Children’s Code will be input by the HLAF’s team.
