President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday advocated for a “safe, empowering, and child-friendly environment" in the country, in a bid to ensure that Filipino youth will continue enjoying their rights.
Duterte made the statement when he presented the 2018 presidential awards for child-friendly municipalities and cities at the Palace’s Rizal Hall.
“Through your continuing partnership and collaboration with our local government units, you have created an environment where we can achieve full realization of our vision for the Filipino children,” the President said in his speech.
“I hope that [this] gathering will encourage all stakeholders to further strengthen our ties and build new alliances as we work together in creating a safe, empowering, and child-friendly environment where children can fully enjoy their rights,” he added.
Cagayan de Oro City bagged the presidential award for child-friendly highly-urbanized city, while Naga City won the presidential award for child-friendly independent component city.
Duterte also conferred the presidential award for child-friendly component city on Tagaytay City, Cavite; presidential award for child-friendly first to third class municipality on Carmona, Cavite; and presidential award for fourth to sixth class municipality on Santo Tomas, La Union.
He hailed the awardees for their hard work, dedication, and strong commitment in promoting and protecting the rights of Filipino children in their localities.
He also lauded the Council for the Welfare of Children and its partners in facilitating the conferment of awards on child-friendly municipalities and cities since 1999.
“Our cooperation is indeed key [in] our goal to help [the youth] to grow to their fullest potential and become productive and responsible citizens,” he said.
The President is hopeful that the recognition of child-friendly municipalities would inspire everyone to build a legacy of a “strong and progressive Philippines for the generations to come.”
“We, as adults, must therefore understand the important role that we play in promoting their well-being and ensuring their success as the next generation of leaders and future bearers of our nation’s patrimony,” Duterte said.
He promised that his administration will continue to pursue its fight against illegal drugs, criminality, corruption, terrorism, and environmental degradation.
“We will continue to persevere in this aspiration because we are committed in fostering a better and brighter future for the Filipino children,” he said.
In a related development, experts from the United States Department of Justice have conducted training to enhance the prosecutorial and investigation capabilities of 72 prosecutors and investigators of cases involving online sexual exploitation of children in the country.
The training, which was held under the auspices of the US Embassy in the Philippines, through the US Department of Justice Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training and the Philippines’ Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking and the International Justice Mission, was held in Angeles City from Nov. 19 to 21.
The program was the fourth in a series of Prosecuting Online Sexual Exploitation (POSE) trainings which have provided participating prosecutors and investigators practical skills to effectively combat OSEC.
“USDOJ Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) legal and digital forensic experts shared best practices in using digital evidence to effectively investigate and prosecute these crimes,” the US Embassy said, in a statement.
“Alongside Philippine forensic examiners, OSEC prosecutors discussed the fundamentals in collection, preservation, and use of digital evidence,” it added.
Cyber Court Judge Romeo Tagra of Marikina City tackled the legal framework governing cybercrime warrants, including the disposition of collected digital evidence in legal proceedings. Other topics discussed included means to obtain digital evidence from other countries, plea bargaining, and the special handling of child victims.
The training culminated with mock trials where prosecutors, alongside investigators, built their cases against fictional perpetrators.
Actual Metro Manila-based Cyber Court judges, including Judge Tagra, conducted the mock trials for each prosecutor-investigator team.
“The participation of cybercrime court judges in the training is significant. It gave law enforcement officers and the prosecutors direct and hands-on tips about what to look for to obtain a favorable ruling,” Judge Tagra said of the training.
“Hands down, the training is an avenue for everyone to learn and enhance their respective skills,” he added.
OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor Don Calvert, in his keynote address, urged vigilance in investigating online sexual exploitation as it is a crime without borders affecting children around the world.
This batch of 72 prosecutors and investigators join the growing group of alumni who, since the first POSE training in March 2017, have gone on to achieve 31 OSEC convictions.
In its Justice Sector Reform portfolio led by Resident Legal Advisor Don Calvert and Technical Advisor Felix Z. Camerino, Jr., USDOJ OPDAT works with Philippine partners to enhance capacity in countering cybercrime and other transnational crimes by training judges, prosecutors, investigators, and other government officials.
OPDAT also assists criminology schools nationwide develop and implement new courses to prepare next generation investigators and prosecutors, the embassy statement said. With PNA
