Children’s rights, welfare as election agenda
MANILA – “While they may not have the ability to vote, the children are the most affected in the decisions imposed by the national government,” said Trixie Manalo, spokesperson of Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns, in a gathering at the Commission on Human Rights on April 2.
The impacts of these decisions, Manalo said, reflect the need for children to be involved in decision-making. Their political participation is to assert the “Children’s Electoral Agenda” to the candidates of the 2025 midterm elections, urging them to prioritize their needs and platforms.
The children’s electoral agenda has seven main demands. There are pushing for the end to systematic human rights violations, jobs and livelihood for the families of children, healthcare of the children and their families, education for all children, protection from abuse and violence, response to calamities and crises, and rights of the Moro and the national minorities
These demands are the result of the nationwide consultation conducted by Salinlahi last year which gathered insights from children and communities from 10 regions.
“The attack on all human rights defenders in the Philippines is systemic and systematic,” said Norie Lariosa, officer-in-charge of Salinlahi. “We heard firsthand from our fellow human rights defenders the trauma and fear for their security, but they never wavered in their fight for the future of the children.”
The recurring issues during the consultation are rampant contractualization, displacement, civil and political rights violations, widespread poverty, and lack of opportunities for children and family prompting them to resort to “anti-social” activities (e.g. prostitution).
“The attacks are not isolated to individuals, but to their families and communities. The marginalized sectors like indigenous peoples, farmers, and urban poor are the common recipients of abuse from the state,” Lariosa said in Filipino. “This becomes a widespread, repetitive pattern of abuse, exacerbating layers of exploitation for children.”
Salinlahi also launched a toolkit for human rights defenders and child rights advocates, which is a product of their nationwide training. The objective of the toolkit is to empower more communities to support their well-being and sustain advocacy work.
Pamela Camacho, deputy executive director of the Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center (CLDC), said that the 2025 elections are crucial to the development of children’s policy and the justice that should be served for the children victims of human rights violations.
Justice for the orphaned children of so-called “drug war” should be part of the electoral agenda, Camacho said. “The arrest of Duterte shows the courage of the families victimized by war on drugs, and the human rights defenders who brave the threat, harassment, and vilification — they never wavered in searching for justice.”
The Child Rights Network (CRN) reported that more than 150 children were killed in the name of “drug war” from 2016 to 2022. Camacho cited data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which recorded around 18,000 children orphaned by the rampant killings under the anti-illegal drugs campaign.
“They are not merely numbers or statistics. These children wanted to be teachers, seafarers, and police officers. They had families. And they had hopes and dreams,” CRN said in a statement, stressing that children are not collateral damage during Duterte’s drug war.
There has been no program for the orphaned childrens of drug war, Camacho said. She added that the youngest victim is a five-month old baby from Mindanao.
Gabriela Women’s Party vowed to continue upholding policies for children. Some of the notable laws they championed in the Congress are the End Child Rape Law, Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act, and Anti-Child Pornography Act.
“We vow to conduct consultations for children to forward laws and reforms in the Congress,” said Jacq Ruiz, fourth nominee of Gabriela. “The voices of the children are an important instrument to fulfill their basic rights and welfare.” (DAA)
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