Budget hike for child protection programs in Bicam report hailed

CIVIL-SOCIETY organizations (CSO) hailed the increase in the government’s investment on child protection programs under the proposed 2022 national budget approved by the bicameral conference committee (Bicam).

Social Watch Philippines (SWP) said the government’s investment on these programs increased to P622.2 million under the Department of Education (Deped) and P178.5 million under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“This one-step gain draws us closer to securing the budget allocation for child protection programs. The remaining step to further guarantee this is for President Duterte to finally stamp its approval to the 2022 National Budget without change to these additional allocations for protecting children,” SWP said in a news statement.

The ratified Bicam report incorporated the following proposed increases in the Deped budget in contribution to the fulfillment of the protection of children from abuse, violence, and neglect, which includes P100 million for the provision of instructional materials for learners with disabilities and P510 million for the Last Mile Schools Program for children of school age situated in geographical isolated, disadvantaged and conflict areas.

The Bicam report also noted that the budget contains P22.145 million for Deped’s Child Protection Program to fund their planning, strategizing and monitoring of activities related to child protection policy, capability building of teachers and child protection committees, conduct of research and data management, and strengthening child protection reporting and referral mechanism of schools.

The report also provided additional P178.5 million to the Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program under DOLE.