“Ako ang pangarap ko… normal na normal dapat yung inaalagaan yung mga bata. Hindi na kami dapat nagtatanong kung anong dapat gusto ninyo. Kundi normal na normal na sa inyong komunidad na napapakinggan kayo, na hindi tinatanong. Dapat mainstream siya, hindi dahil may espesyal na hakbang lagi para mapakinggan kayo.”
This is how Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian described the future he wishes for children around the country and beyond, as conveyed in his open dialogue with children-participants during an Open Government session held on Thursday (May 22).
Dubbed “Making Spaces: Children Driving Change for Open Governments,” the session gathered over 30 children to take the lead to drumbeat their aspirations and dreams for their communities, and connect with policymakers on youth of today’s most relevant
concerns.
According to Secretary Gatchalian, the open dialogue itself speaks volumes why children’s participation and voices should be amplified even more at different levels of government’s decisioning and policy-making.
“Natutuwa ako na nandito kayo at kaya ninyong makipag-diyalogo sa mga lider ng bayan and that means paano pa kung nakakaboto na kayo?” the DSWD chief said.
Secretary Gatchalian urged kids to use their voices to shape a more transparent, open government, which need not be delayed until they reach the right age to vote but instead may start off from small, immediate networks that are closest to them.
The Barangay assembly specifically designed for youth participation is among available platforms, as cited by the DSWD chief.
“We really need you to participate from the bottom, kasi ang sinasabi namin yung mga programa natin para maging sustainable, kailangan ang mga inisyatibo galing sa taas at galing sa baba. Kaya itong inisyatibo na magkaroon ng mga Barangay children
representatives dapat palawakin natin,” Secretary Gatchalian said.
The DSWD chief also pointed out that the DSWD will never cease to listen, mend the aches of every sector of society rooted in pressing societal issues, and uplift vulnerable people in the most holistic, sustaining approach possible.
“Kaya nga po dito sa DSWD, committed po tayo na maglunsad ng mga programa para alisin ang mga pressure na nararamdaman ng inyong pamilya, pressure na maghanap ng pagkain para sa kakainin ng pamilya, pressure para masigurado na may sapat na panahon para ang mga bata ay pwedeng maging bata —- makapag-aral at makapag-laro,” the DSWD chief emphasized.
Undersecretary Angelo Tapales of the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), who was also one of the resource persons, reiterated that the government continues to evolve with breakthrough policies and practices to better ensure that children receive the rights and opportunities they deserve.
“Gumagawa tayo ng isang public budgetary system for children… Ibig lang sabihin niyan, magkakaroon na ng monitoring system kung saan ginagastos ng mga municipalities ninyo ang pera nila… sa pamamagitan nito mas mababantayan pa natin kung saan
napupunta yung pera nila [para sa mga programa at services sa mga kabataan],” Undersecretary Tapales pointed out.
Organized by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Positive Youth Development Network (PYDN), and the CWC, the event is part of the celebration of Open Gov Week in the Philippines from May 19-23 aimed at advancing the values of transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and innovative governance.
The other panelists who joined the event held at the Luxent Hotel in Quezon City were Secretary Amenah Pangandaman of the DBM; Assistant Secretary Georgina Hernandez of the Department of Education (DepEd); Asst. Secretary Josephine Cabrido-Leysa of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); and Deputy Representative for Programme Maya Faisal of the UNICEF. (LSJ)