National Children's Month Celebration

November 20, 2024

Protection for Our Children: Towards a Safe Philippines for a Brighter Tomorrow

The theme for National Children's Month in the country this year sums it all: Stop hurting the children. Imagine a Philippines where they feel safe and happy-where they belong. The theme "Break the Prevalence, End the Violence: Protecting Children, Creating a Safe Philippines" reverberates from the call to take action with whatever is necessary to do more than just discuss how to solve the problem but lead active efforts for healing. It seeks to involve the government, community organizations, families, and even individual members in a collaborative effort to establish an environment that is safe and supportive for every child. Thus, safety is not only physical security but also emotional security and mental protection.

In principle, strategies have to work out. This would involve: making the laws more severe in punitive measures against the child abusers; assisting and healing the victim, providing education to teach parents, teachers, and the community as a whole to recognize and prevent child abuse; that teaching needs to include children learning to identify and report unsafe situations and knowing where to go for support; that poverty and hardships must be addressed to reduce the risk or likelihood of a child becoming a victim.

Thi pledge should not end in a month. Child protection programs should continue, and the protective laws should be developed continuously. Most of all, social attitudes must change. Children deserve to be valued, safe, and loved. We will prosper with our united efforts toward a Philippines where every child is given the chance to bloom and grow. That is not just a matter of not being harmful but of building a future that each child can live out with his special qualities and abilities.