Cebu, Talisay cities support positive discipline of children

An international group launched Thursday morning a three-year program to promote protection of children in the cities of Cebu and Talisay.

Dubbed as “Collective Action to Promote Non-Violent and Protective Society for Children” — the project aims to promote a “positive and non-violent discipline” of children in Cebu.

“Plan International is pleased to work with government and civil society partners in Cebu to promote a non-violent and protective society for children. We look forward to building the confidence and capacity of parents, teachers and service providers to practice positive and non-violent discipline of children. We are also excited to work with children to promote violence-free homes, schools and communities,” said John Diviva, national program unit manager of Plan International.

The project is being implemented by Plan International, Lihok Pilipina Foundation and the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) Foundation, with funding support from Plan International Germany and the European Union.

The project, which will run until 2016, will have the organizers working closely with City Social Welfare and Department Offices, Department of Education (DepEd), the local government units of Cebu City and Talisay City, and civil society groups to institutionalize positive and non-violent discipline of children in homes, schools and barangays.

Among the first activities of the project will be to conduct visits barangays in Cebu City to conduct information dissemination about “positive discipline.”

They will be focusing on barangays Labangon, Guadalupe, San Nicolas Proper, Lahug and Sambag I.

In 2012, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama  vetoed an anti-corporal punishment ordinance, saying that while he’s not against it but the measure needs massive information dissemination to prepare parents and communities.

Cebu City Vice Mayor and council presiding officer, Edgar Labella, also attended the launching said the council will be ready to accommodate and pass again a revised ordinance that bans corporal punishment once it is “fine-tuned.”

Diviva said corporal punishment, bullying and other forms of cruel and degrading treatment are among the hidden dimensions of violence against children that persist due to prevailing social acceptance of violence, especially when it is described or disguised as “discipline”.

A 2006 study on Violence against Children by the United Nations confirms that corporal punishment and bullying exists in every country, cutting across cultures, classes, educational backgrounds, incomes and ethnic origins.

In the Philippines, a 2011 Pulse Asia survey confirmed that two in three Filipino parents use at least one form of psychological or physical punishment to “discipline” their children.

In 2011, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 recorded 748 cases of child abuse. Among this, 401 were cases of abandonment and neglect, 132 were cases of sexual abuse while 116 were cases of physical abuse, battery and maltreatment.

“Positive and non-violent discipline is a parenting approach that teaches and guides children’s behavior while respecting their human rights. Collective action from government, NGOs, parents, teachers and children is crucial to promote this in Cebu. If we can do this, we can help end the culture of corporal punishment as well as build a society that cares and protects for children,” said Teresita Canieso, Plan International Project Officer for Cebu City.