November 27, 2023, at 2:00 PM

Ladies and gentlemen…

Assalamualaikum. Madayaw ug maayong adlaw kaninyong tanan. Magandang araw sa inyong lahat.

Today, we conclude the observation of National Children’s Month, reminding us that we are tasked to provide our children with a safe, nurturing, and loving life that allows them to play, learn, and grow into responsible, productive, and well-rounded individuals.

This task is binding and requires our will, commitment, and a strong sense unity of purpose as a community of elected leaders, policymakers, educators, advocates, development partners, business sector supporters, and parents — all working together to champion Filipino children.

As a community, we are dedicated to upholding a child’s right to survival, protection, development, and participation.

We cannot fail our children. We must not fail our children.

But we will only be truly successful in this cause if we acknowledge the situation of children in the Philippines.

This is important because this is where we should come together as a community — to present policies, interventions, and programs for the development, growth, and protection of Filipino children.

In the Philippines, we should acknowledge that a child's voice almost always disappears in the noise — practically depriving their sector of the right to be counted or to participate in matters affecting their future.

We should also acknowledge that despite our efforts and the number of interventions and resources for child protection, many Filipino children are still living in conditions of violence, poverty, and inadequate access to education, healthcare, shelter, and other basic services.

DEPED EFFORTS

As a community, we have the power to change this.

For the Department of Education — we opened the observation of National Children’s Month with an online program to emphasize the urgency of the need to address child abuse online.

A United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund report has once said that the Philippines “has become the global epicenter of the live-stream sexual abuse trade, and many of the victims are children.”

The magnitude of this problem is doubly unsettling because our children have access to the internet, where information exchange is fast and even real-time.

Apart from sexual abuse and exploitation, our children may also become the victim or the perpetrator of online bullying, hate speech, and other forms of abuse.

DepEd’s Learner Rights and Protection Office, or LRPO, spearheaded the online program with a sub-theme, “Stay Curious, Stay Cautious: Empowering Learners to Surf Safely.”

The objective was to underscore our commitment to fostering curiosity and emphasize our country’s dedication to shielding children from online violence and abuses.

We have also undertaken several steps to address the presence of threats to the physical and psychological security of Filipino children.

Last year, DepEd established the Telesafe Contact Center Helpline to receive and process reports of abuses committed against our learners. This is part of the Learner Rights and Protection Office.

The primary objective of this Helpline is to offer immediate assistance, intervention, and referral to any reported incidents of learner rights and protection violations.

As of November 27, 2023, our Helpline has received a total number of 1709 reports, with verbal abuse committed against our learners ranking as the highest, followed by sexual abuse and cyberbullying.

In time for the observation of National Children’s Month, the LRPO will also be implementing the following policies, with emphasis on DepEd’s advocacy of protecting our learners and strengthening our educators’ passion for upholding our learners’ rights:

1. DepEd Learner Rights and Protection Policy. This is the enhancement of DepEd Order No. 40 or the “DepEd Child Protection Policy. This will include recently enacted laws and other issuances in line with protecting our learners and our educators.

2. Guidelines on Implementing the Safe Spaces Act in Basic Education Institutions. This new policy is being introduced in line with Republic Act 11313, or the “Safe Spaces Act,” which expanded the definition of sexual harassment. The policy aims to address gender-based sexual harassment in schools, ensuring a safe and positive learning environment free from gender-based violence, especially gender-based sexual harassment that may be committed to our learners, educators, and personnel.

3. Protocol on Handling Children in Situations of Armed Conflict or C-S-A-C Learners in the Department of Education. Due to the alarming incidence of armed conflicts that directly affect schools and students, DepEd is issuing a policy that mandates all DepEd personnel and stakeholders to strictly adhere to the appropriate handling and treatment of CSAC learners. We must prioritize the protection of these learners during times of conflict.

These policies are our commitment to creating an environment for Filipino learners to thrive and live dignified lives.

These policies are not merely directives but imperatives for teachers, DepEd personnel, both teaching and non-teaching personnel, partners, and stakeholders.

Teachers play a pivotal role in translating these policies into daily practice by ensuring the well-being of our learners.

Simultaneously, DepEd personnel must internalize and uphold these standards, fostering a culture where child protection and ethical practices become intrinsic to delivering quality basic education to Filipino children.

These policies extend beyond our classrooms, necessitating integration into the community—where we expect the support of our partners and education stakeholders.

PARTNERS

Speaking of partners…

Thank you to our partner organizations and agencies… the Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation, Geneva Human Rights Education, UNICEF Philippines, Stairway Foundation Inc., and many others…

We look forward to expanding and strengthening valuable partnerships for the future of Filipino learners with you.

At the same time, we continue to strengthen our partnership with the Philippine National Police to ensure that our schools and learners are protected from criminality and illegal drugs.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has also been very helpful in our campaign to protect our learners from the recruitment of violent extremism and insurgency.

CONCLUSION

Building a culture of safety and an environment that protects our children from harm is a community effort.

It is a by-product of various initiatives, practices, or interventions that put child protection at the center.

The task of the Education sector is not only to ensure that learners get the best basic education available for them — but more importantly, we have the task to ensure that we provide them with a safe, nurturing, and loving space that allows them to play, learn, and grow responsible, productive, and well-rounded individuals.

We all can make a difference for the Filipino children.

Mga kababayan, patuloy po tayong maging MATATAG tungo sa isang Bansang Makabata at Batang Makabansa.

Ang lahat po ng ating ginagawa ay para sa Diyos, sa bayan, at sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino.

Shukran.