Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Virginia Orogo warned that parents or guardians who are using their children to beg for money or sell items on the streets is a form of child abuse and therefore punishable by law.
“Some parents have forgotten that child neglect is child abuse, considered as a crime under Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination. Parents are responsible for taking care and providing for their children’s needs. No child should be on the streets, exposed to danger at their young age,” Orogo said.
As stipulated under the law, acts of neglect, abuse, cruelty or exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to the child’s development is punishable by the penalty of prision mayor in its minimum period. The victims of the said acts shall be entrusted to the care of the DSWD.
“To address this, the Department will soon launch the ‘Silungan sa Barangay,’ a project for street children and the homeless families. It gives a temporary home and serves as a learning center and livelihood center for children and families at risk on the streets,” Orogo said.
“The programs to be provided in the facility are those already existing but are currently not accessed by the street children and their families. It is about time we look at this in the perspective of children, how they are adversely affected by their exposure on the streets,” she added.
Silungan sa Barangay also provides a venue for the convergence of holistic services of various groups for street children and their homeless families.
“Side by side with the Silungan sa Barangay is the bigger advocacy project of the Department which is the #HelptheHomelessPH campaign,” she said. (Ellalyn V. Ruiz)
