(CDN Photo/Norman Mendoza)
LAPU-LAPU City Mayor Paz Radaza announced measures to strengthen children’s protection in line with the celebration of National Children’s Month.
“Your beautiful smiles fuel me to do more, to double my efforts, to pour more of my energy for your welfare and development,” said the mayor before thousands of young Oponganons gathered at Hoops Dome for her “State of the Children Address.”
She cited that records from the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office showed that in the anti-drug campaign, there were minors who surrendered, which should not have been the case to begin with.
“Illegal drugs will do no good. It will destroy lives. We need to save our children from the menace of illegal drugs,” said Radaza, who reactivated the “Junior Police and Parents’ Brigade” to serve as peacemakers and protectors in school campuses.
They will be trained on the basics of police information gathering and bomb detection, among others.
Radaza also said the Social Welfare and Development Office has established a temporary home for abandoned children and those in conflict with the law who need immediate custodial care.
For children with disabilities, the city’s Stimulation Therapeutic Activity Center or STAC offers occupational and physical therapy, special education and psychosocial rehabilitation, Radaza said.
The city also sends 232 Alay Lakad scholars to the Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise, Cebu Technological University and Cebu Normal University, she added.
From 2015 to 2016, 669 classrooms were built using funds from the city and national government. Seventy-four classrooms are currently being constructed for students of Barangays Babag, Mactan, Bankal and Marigondon.
In partnership with the private sector, the city also provided “Starbooks,” a digital library containing thousands of science and technology resources which can be used by students for their assignments and projects.
An “I Care Box” has been placed in the schools for notes on suggestions, problems and other concerns which the school could help address.
Radaza expressed concern over the growing number of suicides reported.
“I want you to know that your problem is just so little compared to the problems of the world. As your mayor and a mother that cares for all of you, I am saddened,” said Radaza.