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The Philippines to detail special concerns which give greater definition to prohibited acts where there are child protection issues. For example: “In addition to all acts defined and penalized under Republic Act 7610 on Child Abuse and Exploitation… the following acts shall likewise be punishable: A. Illegal Recruitment – Any person who recruits other persons for work shall be required to register and secure a permit… with an undertaking not to recruit children. There is a presumption of illegal trafficking when a person is found together with three or more minors not his or her relative at the pier or port of exit for the purpose of transporting the minors to another place without any permit from the council captain.” The Code includes mechanisms known as Local Councils for the Welfare of Children to coordinate implementation of all policies, programs and projects relative to the survival, development and protection of children. These will be monitored by a Provincial Council, which will have a membership of 21 including three representatives from NGOs; one child; government departments; the provincial attorney; and a representative of the business sector. The Provincial Council will create a desk for children’s concerns, which will assist local government when it creates policy that may affect children. The children’s desk will provide child impact statements on the likely repercussions of proposed legislation or policy on children and assist the Philippines Government to provide its CRC implementation reports to the United Nations. The Code includes provision for remedy and penalties where unlawful acts have been committed against a child. This includes mandatory reporting for doctors, hospitals and government workers, and provisions for failure to report. The Code has 114 sections, is 35 pages long, and was approved by the Bohol Governor in November 2000. The initiative has been shared with other provincial authorities, and has so far been taken up by three others. The Children’s Code is a valuable local resource that enhances child development and protection by providing framework that makes it everyone’s job to consider the best interests of the child. Lessons can be learned from the process as well as the outcome. Community organising can be more effective than casework Work in partnership and coalitions, where there is opportunity, can maximise results and avoid duplication. Civil society networks or bodies, such as the church, can be a resource in running value-formation courses with the community. World Vision seeks to involve them as partners to advocate with local authorities on issues of child labour (e.g. on sugar plantations or deep-sea fishing in Negros – see text box on a later page), or children not going to school. Demonstrated examples of good practice in community organising and cooperation between NGOs in the interests of children are evident in Palawan. The “PIGLAS” (Pinag-isang Lakas Alay sa Kabataan – United Force for Children) network, also known as the Provincial Taskforce on Child Labour in Palawan, has 22 organisations as members and a principal aim of addressing the issue of child labour. The 22 members, including national and local government departments, International Organisations, NGOs and people’s organisations, each bring areas of expertise and efforts are made to avoid duplication. The network engages government in planning the provision of children/youth services. It is unified and has a collective strategy to take action on child protection issues such as child labour. It is in the process of being registered as a legal entity, which will 61
The Philippines increase opportunity for it to apply for funds in its own right to support it in its stated roles. Provincial Taskforce on Child Labour in Palawan (PIGLAS) Objectives: • Establish a provincial city and municipalbased mechanism for detecting, monitoring and reporting cases of child labour • Conduct investigation, search and rescue on cases of child labour • Facilitate the lodging of complaints for court cases and other para-legal requirements as needed • Provide physical and psycho-social services to victims as required • Coordinate with other stakeholders regarding victims • Increase level of awareness of this issue in the community • Conduct research and establish a database and documentation of child labour that will substantiate policy development and advocacy • Raise funds for the taskforce to fulfil its role. Key responsibilities of members, according to areas of expertise: • Investigation and rescue • Social service • Education and public awareness • Prosecution and para-legal • Secretariat, administration • Research and documentation The chair of PIGLAS is with the Department of Labour, which ensures the network can assist the Department’s task of combating child labour as well as advocate to local, provincial and national government on priority issues. Identified operating constraints are the bureaucracy of government, which slows down effective action on child labour, and vested interests of local politicians. Examples were given of gaps between well-meaning policy and the services required to effectively implement them. Opportunities also exist to better monitor how policy is implemented and to strengthen practice by increasing capacity. The benefits to the community and to organisational effectiveness of a functioning network cannot be overstated. The principle of linking with others to increase effectiveness is well-established in development practice, however its application and responsiveness to community is questionable in many cases. The PIGLAS example is one where NGOs, governmental bodies and community-based groups have worked well together. World Vision has promoted and resourced the PIGLAS network in its establishment phase. One member organisation that has been especially valuable for World Vision to link up with is the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), a group that has a focus on environmental security linked to livelihoods. 62
Page 1 and 2:
Risk Laurence Gray
Page 3 and 4:
Copyright © 2003 by World Vision I
Page 5 and 6:
contents Useful approaches to build
Page 7 and 8:
executive summary responsibility of
Page 9 and 10:
executive summary The Philippines I
Page 11 and 12: introduction “How is it possible
Page 13 and 14: introduction Child as a normative f
Page 15 and 16: introduction • offer opportunity
Page 17 and 18: introduction information may emerge
Page 19 and 20: introduction Current challenges of
Page 21 and 22: introduction Planning long-term for
Page 23 and 24: introduction Because we are abandon
Page 25 and 26: Cambodia or a medical emergency. Ho
Page 27 and 28: Cambodia This drawing by a child sc
Page 29 and 30: Cambodia near the garbage dump have
Page 31 and 32: Cambodia The Mith Samlanh/Friends v
Page 33 and 34: Cambodia Mith Samlanh/Friends vocat
Page 35 and 36: Cambodia To further understand how
Page 37 and 38: Cambodia Responses were gained thro
Page 39 and 40: Cambodia LICADHO uses a variety of
Page 41 and 42: Cambodia Families are taught to dis
Page 43 and 44: Cambodia The Law Enforcement Agains
Page 45 and 46: Cambodia 3. The project was based o
Page 47 and 48: Indonesia • The BPS also estimate
Page 49 and 50: Indonesia For Children’s Day in J
Page 51 and 52: Indonesia Useful approaches to buil
Page 53 and 54: Indonesia Child protection concerns
Page 55 and 56: Indonesia Children in the IDP camp,
Page 57 and 58: Indonesia building strategies can b
Page 59 and 60: The Philippines • children who ar
Page 61: The Philippines • conducting a ra
Page 65 and 66: The Philippines Barriers to child p
Page 67 and 68: Sri Lanka Children affected by conf
Page 69 and 70: Sri Lanka Partnership for education
Page 71 and 72: Sri Lanka Children’s play showing
Page 73 and 74: Sri Lanka Impact of the project Som
Page 75 and 76: Sri Lanka “I spoke to a group of
Page 77 and 78: Vietnam Background Community-based
Page 79 and 80: Vietnam • At the community level,
Page 81 and 82: Vietnam “States Parties recognise
Page 83 and 84: Vietnam “Talk is cheap. Action is
Page 85 and 86: conclusion Agencies within civil so
Page 87 and 88: ecommendations universities. Advoca
Page 89 and 90: ecommendations • Emerging issues,
Page 91 and 92: acknowledgements Many individuals a
Page 93 and 94: ibliography Amnesty International,
Page 95 and 96: appendix 1 Online toolkit The follo
Page 97: appendix 3 Some principles of World
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