Himamaylan City is Negros Occidental’s top Child-Friendly Local Government Unit, as per the recent Department of the Interior and Local Government Child-Friendly Local Governance audit.
Himamaylan garnered a 98.97 percent rating, the highest among the 19 municipalities and 13 cities in the province.
Others in the Top 10 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%).
“Child protection is one of our top priorities to develop, source out, and strengthen in Himamaylan,” said Mayor Raymund Tongson as the LGU finally established the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC).
It solidified its commitment for a safe and conducive environment for children across all 19 barangays, following a city-wide training with barangay officials and personnel July 15-16 in a hotel in Bacolod City.
“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,” Tongson said in a press release. “With your plans of action, we can, hopefully, provide a better quality of life for our children and youth.”
The mayor added that a conducive environment promoted by barangay and city governments will positively impact the physical, mental, and emotional developments of children.
Organized by the Himamaylan City Social Welfare and Development Office, the participants were oriented on the BCPC Framework, along with its functionality and indicators.
The training also included a presentation of the Child Friendly Local Governance audit, Local Council for the Protection of Children audit, and the BCPC 2022, a review of the database on children, situational analysis on children, State of the Children Report, and the annual work and financial plan.
Capacity building workshops, such as this, enables local officials and employees to be more competent in implementing plans aimed at serving Himamaylanons, said Tongson, who also led the Pledge of Commitment.
To cap off the two-day training, Vice Mayor Justin Gatuslao shared his takeaways and congratulated the participants for delivering the expected outputs.
Gatuslao, meanwhile, presented to Tongson a copy of Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution No. 2024-128 commending the mayor for recently graduating magna cum laude on his Master’s degree in Public Administration and Governance from the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos. ||
