• THERESA MAE DULMAN
Seventeen “children at-risk” were rescued by the Bacolod Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD) Anti-Mendicancy Task Force, in intensified operations following a viral video of minors allegedly sniffing solvents.
DSSD head Richelle Verdeprado-Mangga said that four of the rescued minors were among the six children seen in the video taken along North Capitol Road.
“They have been identified and profiled, and most of them have been on the streets for a long time,” Verdeprado-Mangga said. “We are coordinating with their families and the barangays, but they keep coming back to the streets. That is why it is challenging; we cannot just completely remove them since some of their parents are also out there.”
DSSD profiling reveals that some of the minors have already been rescued multiple times.
Verdeprado-Mangga noted that as “children at-risk,” the minors will receive counseling and intervention before they are returned to their parents.
They will also coordinate with concerned barangays for continuous monitoring.
While minors from highly abusive or unsafe environments are placed into institutional care with partner child-welfare agencies, Verdeprado-Mangga said that institutionalization must meet the strict standards of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“For those proven to have severely neglected and abused their children, we file cases to strip them of their parental authority, leading to the involuntary commitment of the children with the DSSD, after which, they are referred to various institutions,” she added.
Mangga said the number of street children continues to increase due to ongoing economic and family crises, such as parental unemployment, illness, or abandonment, which constantly drive new faces to the streets despite regular rescue operations.
Meanwhile, city administrator, Atty. Mark Steven Mayo, reminded business establishments that selling rugby and other volatile substances to minors is prohibited under City Ordinance 328, or the Rugby and Other Volatile Substances Ordinance.
Businesses found violating the ordinance face the revocation of their permits and closure of the establishment.
The city government also urged the public to stop giving cash directly to street children to discourage them from staying in commercial areas.
The DSSD, meanwhile, urged those uploading photos or videos of related incidents to blur the faces of minors to prevent long-term social stigma and protect their rights. | TMD
