PROTECTING RIGHTS OF CHILDREN

EMILY L. NICDAO

The Department of Education (DepEd) said the best interests of children must always be considered to protect them from abuse and other forms of violence.

Acts of violence against children are rooted in failing to respect children as human beings, according to DepEd. What opens the door for abuse and other forms of violence against children is when they are treated as “properties”, DepEd furthered.

To battle this, every activity that a learner-centered institution does should focus on ensuring that the best interests of children are always realized and achieved.

A gender-sensitive organization should ensure the best interests of learners. Being gender-sensitive does not only look at sexual orientation, but is founded on the same concept of respect for the rights of others, which is at the foundation of human rights, including the rights of children.

To ensure that cases and instances of abuse are closely monitored at school level, DepEd issued Order No. 40, series of 2012, or the DepEd Child Protection Policy, which requires all elementary and secondary schools— both public and private— to create their own Child Protection Committee (CPC).

The CPC is composed of the following: 1) School Head/Administrator as Chairperson; 2) Guidance Counselor/Teacher as Vice Chairperson; 3) Representatives of the teachers as designated by the Faculty Club; 4) Representative of the parents as designated by the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA); 5) Representative of learners as designated by the Supreme Student Council; and 6) Representative from the community as designated by the punong barangay, preferably a member of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC).

Some of the roles of the CPC are: to ensure that learners are following a certain Code of Conduct in schools and that schools have their localized Child Protection Policy; to develop and implement a school-based referral and monitoring system of cases of all forms of abuse and bullying; and to identify, refer, and report cases of child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination, and bullying to the appropriate offices if needed, among others.

Moreover, DepEd released the DepEd Order No. 55, s. 2013, or the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 10627, otherwise known as The Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, which further provides clearer rules on bullying and cyber-bullying. This was reiterated through DepEd Memorandum No. 5, s. 2017, or the Reiteration of the Department of Education Anti-Bullying Policy. — oOo—

The author is Teacher III at Lolu Elementary School, Macabebe, Pampanga