The Department of Social Welfare and Development will continue monitoring the “rescued” Lumad children upon their return to their homes, | Pegeen Maisie Sararaña
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be monitoring the Lumad children who have been brought home to Talaingod, Davao del Norte on February 18, 2021, after being “rescued” by the police from a retreat house in a university in Cebu City.
The Save Our Schools Network (SOSN) already said in previous statements that there was no need for the “rescue” because the Lumad students were part of the Bakwit School program, a curriculum approved by the Department of Education.
In an official statement, DSWD said that the operations were assisted by the Local Social Welfare and Development Office (LSWO) who have jurisdiction over the area with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7).
DSWD also maintains that the LSWO, in this case, the Cebu City Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS), were well-equipped in handling the situation because the DSWD field office in the region has been assisting them through the process.
“One of the technical assistance being provided by the Department to the LSWDO is the conduct of psychosocial processing sessions of children who have gone through traumatic incidents,” said DSWD.
The PRO-7’s Women and Children’s Desk also conducted a psychosocial intervention to the “rescued” children after the operations.
The LSWDO, PRO-7, and NCIP have decided to bring the children home to Davao del Norte, and DSWD said the field offices in Region 11 will be ensuring that they are secured at home.
The DSWD will also meet with the Regional Council for the Welfare of Children (RCWC) to discuss the aftercare plan for the Lumad children especially for the two boys and four girls who are yet to be reunited with their parents and are still under custody of Cebu City.
They assured that the LSWO would also conduct a Parenting Capability Assessment prior to the turnover of the minors to their parents when they are contacted. /rcg