South Cotabato Provincial Governor Daisy P. Avance Fuentes tackled the Provincial Government’s accomplishments in ensuring the survival, developmental, protection and participation rights of children as she delivered her State of the Children Address (SOCHA) at Koronadal National Comprehensive High School (KNCHS), Koronadal City last November 28.
Among the highlights of her speech were the province’s accomplishment in rehabilitating wasted and severely wasted children to their normal nutritional condition and the rise in the province’s rate on facility based delivery and skilled birth attendants to 89% compared to 2014’s 87% rate.
She also highlighted the province’s additional half-way house projects for pregnant women, Bahay ni Nanay, in the municipalities of Polomolok, Surallah and T’boli.
Fuentes, in her speech, vowed to strengthen the province’s programs, projects and activities to reduce the number of fatality among pregnant women, and increase the people’s awareness, particularly of mothers, to avail of the basic services for them and their children. She also vowed to improve the capabilities of health workers.
Programs and activities that intend to protect children such as the strengthening of the province’s Denounce VAWC Advocates Defend Violence Free Family Program (DAD-VFF), forums to clarify laws that pertain to the protection of children and initiatives to help children in conflict with the law were also emphasized.
She too guaranteed that the Provincial Government will continue to help send children to school through the province’s scholarship and employment programs such as the Kabugwason Paglaum Grant-in-aid Program and Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES). Last year, a total of 1, 032 students availed of the SPES program while 19, 999 received Kabugwason grants.
Fuentes thanked the provincial government’s partner agencies for helping the government materialize its various programs for the children and ensured the people of the strict implementation of the policies for the children’s welfare.
It was found out that South Cotabato remains to be the Most Functional Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC) in Region XII for the last three years.
By Frances Kristene Alvero
