Cebu City lacks shelter for kids rescued from streets, abuse

Women’s desk of police force opens celebration of Children’s Month

Cases of child abuse have kept the police in Cebu City busy.

However, once minors are rescued from the street or abusive elders, where can they go?

The lack of facilities in Cebu City to shelter abused children is a problem to tackle as November marks the celebration of Children’s Month.

“We really need a shelter with programs for these kids,” said Senior Inspector Arieza Otida, chief of the Women and Children Protection Desk of the Cebu City police.

There are facilities for children in conflict with the law, but these wards have different needs and cannot be allowed to mingle with innocent child witnesses or young victims of crime.

Most facilities for street children in Cebu City have a limited capacity.

“During a rescue operation, our role is to secure the area. There’s a shelter for them for their aftercare, but the place is not big enough to accommodate them. So some are just released after profiling,” Otida said.

While a recommendation is made to file cases against a parent or both parents for neglect, Otida said the downside is that large families with many other children suddenly have no one to take care of the rest of the brood.

RISE IN PHYSICAL ABUSE CASES

Reports of physical violence against children in Cebu City went up to 275 cases from January to June this year, compared with 252 in the same period last year, based on data from the WCPD of the Cebu City police.

Most cases originate in slums where families are impoverished and parents are engaged in illegal drugs, said Otida.

“Most of these parents become hot headed and release their tension or anger on their kids. It is sad because they are the ones violating the special laws protecting the children,” she said.

“We are intensifying our information drive especially about laws protecting minors. It is easier now for children to go to the police stations to report what abuses happened to them,” she said.

Otida said the worst case they handled this year was one of incest rape involving two sisters and their father. A criminal complaint was filed against the father. The rescued children were placed in the custody of social workers, and have been undergoing social and psychological interventions.

The WCPD will kick off Children’s Month today with a children’s zumba party and talent contest at Camp Sotero Cabahug on Gorordo Avenue. Foundations and NGOs involved in child welfare will be participating.

The celebration was moved from October to November after Pres. Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act 10661, a special law that commemorates the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Nov. 20, 1989.

This month, the WCPD will also visit a facility for children in conflict with the law to check on their progress.

“Last year, we visited orphanages. Now, we are planning to visit these kids to check whether the programs are in line with their needs, and to assess their conditions,” said Otida.