Bohol capital sets sights on child-friendly seal

TAGBILARAN CITY – The city is likely to get the Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance after it passed a Department of Interior and Local Government audit last year.

In a statement sent to the media Saturday, the City Media Bureau said the seal will be conferred to the city government by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC).

This is the fourth year the city will receive the award.

Mayor John Geesnell Yap lauded the dedication of the men and women in the city government who worked hard to help the city capture the plum.

The CWC did an audit on the city government last year and the local government units (LGUs), which got favorable results.

The LGUs were audited using 12 assessment criteria.

The criteria for assessment included the reduction of deaths among children below five years old, the reduction on the number of children with below normal weights, increase in the number of children attending basic day-care services, the completion rate for children attending elementary grades, ab- sence of child labor, and percentage reduction of children involved in abuse, exploitation and trafficking in persons.

Other criteria used to assess the LGUs including: safety measures for children, extent of children’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation, ordinance establishing the Barangay Violence Against Women and their Children desks, PhilHealth accreditation of the main health facility, establishment of a local school board, and completion of at least 70 percent of the local school board plan.

The assessment criteria were used as benchmark and through a scaling system in measuring the performance of the LGUs as against national standards, averages or targets, said the statement from the City Media Bureau.