10-12 July 2019 | City of San Fernando, La Union, Philippines

Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia) and Civil Society Coalition on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC Coalition Philippines) were invited by the City Government of San Fernando to facilitate a three-day Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC) Technical Working Group (TWG) Planning Workshop held on 10-12 July 2019.

The (TWG) members comprised of representatives from the key sectors and offices such as the City Health Office, Social Welfare Office, the Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council), and representatives from the Department of Education, Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine National Police. Acting City Mayor Alfredo Pablo Ortega and City Councilors Luzan Valero and John Orros, and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President Macky Ducusin, also graced the planning workshop.

Photos: Civil Society Coalition on the Convention on the Rights of the Child

The following were covered in the three-day planning session: discussion of the overview of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; Childhood and Child Development; Child Participation; Child Rights Situational Analysis (CRSA); Workshop on Problem and Solution Tree; Visioning; National Levels Plans of Action: Third National Plan for Action (NPAC), Philippine Plan of Action to End Violence Against Children (PPA-EVAC); and Workshop on Existing and Priority Programs, Projects, Activities. Sessions on Budgeting for Children’s Rights and Budget Analysis were also introduced on the last day of the Planning, followed by a session on basic evaluation and monitoring. Towards the end, the various workshop groups were given time to discuss among themselves their next steps.

The Planning Workshop capped-off with putting together into a “vision quilt” of the pieces of fabric artwork made by the participants, showing how each member of the TWG envisions La Union as a People’s City in 2025. The participants were given instructions on how to work on the pieces of fabrics during the visioning session.

The results of the Planning Workshop were inputs into the consolidated LCPC plans of the City Government. This meeting is seen by the facilitators as a good platform for interdepartmental collaboration towards a harmonized plans for the City’s LCPC.

Read more from the website of the City Government of San Fernando here.

This initiative is part of CRC Asia’s Child Rights Governance Program on Public Investment in Children.