Himamaylan most Child-Friendly LGU in NegOcc

City creates barangay councils for protection of children

Himamaylan City is Negros Occidental’s top Child-Friendly Local Government Unit, according to the recent Department of the Interior and Local Government Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit.

According to the audit results, Himamaylan City garnered a 98.97 percent rating, the highest among the 19 municipalities and 13 cities.

Joining Himamaylan in the top 10 Child-Friendly LGUs in the province are: Bago City (95.8%), La Castellana (95.50%), Hinoba-an (94.45%), Victorias City (90.50%, Silay City (89.25%), Cadiz City (88.95%), Talisay City (88.23%), Manapla (87.50%), La Carlota City (87.46%), and Murcia (86.83%).

True to its achievement as the most Child-Friendly LGU, the City Government of Himamaylan has finally established the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC).

Through the city-wide training with barangay officials and personnel held on July 15 to 16, 2024 at Acacia Hotel in Bacolod City, Himamaylan solidifies its commitment for a safe and conducive environment for children across all 19 barangays.

“Child protection is one of our top priorities to develop, source out, and strengthen in Himamaylan,” said Mayor Raymund Tongson in his speech. “We are not conducting this training for the sake of accolades, we are here to work for a better Himamaylan for our children and youth.

“With your plans of action, we can hopefully provide a better quality of life to our children and youth. A conducive environment promoted by our barangay and city governments will positively impact their physical, mental, and emotional development,” said Tongson after listening to the workshop outputs of the participants.

Organized by the Himamaylan City Social Welfare and Development Office, the participants were introduced to the BCPC Framework along with its functionality and indicators.

The day one of the training also included a presentation of the Child Friendly Local Governance Audit, Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC) Audit, and BCPC 2022.

The training also reviewed the Database on Children, Situational Analysis on Children, State of the Children Report (LSCR), and Annual Work and Financial Plan (AWFP).

Upon listening to the outputs of the barangays, capacity building workshops such as this enables local officials and officers to be more competent in implementing plans aimed at serving Himamaylanons, said Tongson who also led the the Pledge of Commitment.

The first day of the training ended with a review of the framework on the City/Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (C/BDRMM) Plan for Children.

The second day of the training highlighted the presentation of outputs for the C/BDRMM Plan for Children.

To end the two-day training, Vice Mayor Justin Gatuslao shared his takeaways and congratulated the participants for delivering the expected outputs.

Meanwhile, Gatuslao awarded Tongson the Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution No. 2024-128 commending the city’s chief executive for graduating Magna Cum Laude in his Master’s in Public Administration and Governance at the University of Negros Occidental.*